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No. 6 Villanova breezes past Georgetown

Mar 8, 2014 - 11:59 PM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Darrun Hilliard picked up 19 points and five assists as No. 6 Villanova took down Georgetown, 77-59, on Saturday.

JayVaughn Pinkston added 13 points and seven boards for the Wildcats (28-3, 16-2 Big East), already the owners of the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tourney, who finished the year with six consecutive wins and 12 in their last 13.

"Normally it's very difficult (to play with the same intensity every game) but it has not been difficult with this group because of our leadership," said Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "These guys just bring it every day in practice and I think that's what is unique about them, being able to play with the same intensity level regardless of the circumstances."

Ryan Arcidiacono had 11 points and Kris Jenkins contributed 10 and five boards for Villanova, which posted its highest win total since going 30-8 in 2008-09.

Markel Starks totaled a game-high 20 points for the Hoyas (17-13, 8-10), losers in four of six to end the regular season. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera had 14 points and Aaron Bowen scored 13 in defeat.

Villanova never trailed in the contest, jumping out to leads of 9-2 and 14-5 thanks to seven points from Hilliard.

Smith-Rivera's layup pulled the visitors within 18-17 just before the midway point of the first half, but the hosts finished strongly.

Josh Hart hit a layup and added a slam, Jenkins hit two free throws and added a jumper, then later connected from beyond the arc, and 'Nova led 34-24.

The Wildcats' lead jumped to 42-27 after James Bell completed a four-point play, and they took a 13-point edge to the break.

Arcidiacono drained back-to-back triples and Villanova was up 20 before seven minutes elapsed in the second half, completing a 13-4 surge.

A brief 9-4 blip from Georgetown whittled its deficit from 64-44 to 68-53 after Smith-Rivera was good from long range, but that's as close as the Hoyas got.

Hilliard's lay-in with 2:25 to go pushed Villanova's lead to 77-57 and the best in the Big East coasted home.

"Today I've got to say yes to that but they are and do a good job," said Hoyas head coach John Thompson III on his opponent's ability to make comebacks tough. "They have several players on their team that will probably be the star on other teams and they got different people that could step up and control the ball. I think there unselfishness is key."

Game Notes

The 18-point margin was the largest in victory for Villanova against Georgetown in a Big East contest ... The Main Line program's previous largest Big East margin against the Hoyas was a 75-60 win on Feb. 5, 2004 ... The 16 conference wins are the most in the Wildcats' Big East tenure ... Villanova improved to 39-33 all-time at the Wells Fargo Center.