No. 14 Villanova broke open a tie game Sunday with a 16-2 run late in the second half and remained atop the Big East Conference with a 77-65 win over Georgetown at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Colin Gillespie led the Wildcats (18-4, 9-0) with a career-high 30 points, going 6 of 11 from the 3-point line, and added five rebounds. Eric Paschall chipped in 24 points and Phil Booth scored 14, including a 3-pointer with 3:52 left off an offensive rebound by Gillespie that gave Villanova a 66-55 advantage.

Freshman guard James Akinjo scored 19 points, while reserve Trey Mourning added 12 for the Hoyas (14-8, 4-5) and Jamorko Pickett hit for 10. But they got next to nothing from two of their top three scorers.

Forward Jessie Govan played just 13 scoreless minutes before fouling out, while guard Mac McClung went only 2 of 11 from the field and managed only four points in 22 minutes.

Still, Georgetown got the game even at 53 when Akinjo drained a 3-pointer with 7:27 left and had a chance for the lead on its next possession. But the Hoyas went cold and Booth converted a transition layup for the lead with 6:25 remaining.

Booth, who had eight points in the run, then drilled a 3-ball for a 58-53 lead. The margin grew to 14 in the final two minutes as the Hoyas went nearly six minutes without a field goal.

The first half set the day's tone. Neither team went on any kind of significant run until Villanova hit Georgetown with a 13-3 blitz, capped by a Gillespie 3-pointer at the 12:57 mark that gave the Wildcats a 17-11 lead.

A 3-point play by Paschall with 8:54 left in the first half upped the margin to 22-15, but the Hoyas spent the half's remainder reeling Villanova in. Pickett finished a 10-3 run by hitting a 3-pointer with 5:20 remaining, tying the game at 25.

Georgetown got the last possession of the half and cashed it in with Akinjo maneuvering to the top of the key and tossing in a 3-pointer as time expired, giving the Hoyas a 34-33 lead.

--Field Level Media