National Basketball Association
Villanova 89, Providence 61
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Where: The Pavilion, Villanova, Pennsylvania
Officials:
# Ed Corbett, # John Gaffney, # Earl Walton
Attendance:
6500
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 6 Villanova 89, Providence 61: Darrun Hilliard II scored 24 points as the Wildcats trounced the visiting Friars to clinch at least a share of the Big East championship.
Villanova (26-2, 13-2 Big East) posted its ninth straight victory thanks to Hilliard and fellow senior JayVaughn Pinkston (16 points, eight rebounds), who were honored before their final home game at The Pavilion. Hilliard knocked down six shots from 3-point range while Ryan Arcidiacono was 3-of-6 beyond the arc en route to 13 points for the Wildcats.
Tyler Harris went 8-of-11 off the bench en route to 18 points for Providence (19-9, 9-6), which had won its previous two outings. LaDontae Henton added 12 points - more than eight below his season average - while second-leading scorer Kris Dunn struggled to four points on 2-of-10 shooting.
The Wildcats missed six of their last seven shots of the first half and finished the period at 38.5 percent from the floor, but still led 34-25 at the break. The Friars scored on their first three possessions of the second half, but Hilliard drained two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws during a 10-2 run that pushed the hosts' advantage to 48-34.
Providence's deficit was 48-36 when Villanova scored 10 straight points to create an even more comfortable margin. Hilliard made two more triples during that burst and finished 6-of-11 from behind the arc, making him 21-of-38 from long range over his last four games.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Dunn had six of his team's 15 turnovers. The sophomore has committed at least four turnovers in eight of his last nine games. ... Hilliard had four steals - all in the first half. ... The Wildcats have one home game remaining - their regular-season finale against St. John's - but that game will be played at the Wells Fargo Center.
Top Game Performances
| Providence |
|
Villanova |
|
Tyler Harris 18 |
Scoring |
Darrun Hilliard 24 |
|
Kris Dunn 7 |
Assists |
Dylan Ennis 5 |
|
Kris Dunn 5 |
Rebounds |
Daniel Ochefu 8 |
|
Kyron Cartwright 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Kris Jenkins 8 |
|
LaDontae Henton 2 |
Steals |
Darrun Hilliard 4 |
|
Paschal Chukwu 2 |
Blocks |
JayVaughn Pinkston 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Providence
|
61 |
44.8 |
3-10 |
6-12 |
14 |
25 |
3 |
5 |
15 |
| Villanova
|
89 |
53.2 |
13-25 |
26-31 |
15 |
30 |
5 |
10 |
10 |
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