Gillespie, Moore lead ’Cats past Providence

RADNOR » A bright light coming from a sunny window delayed the start of the second half. When the game finally resumed, Villanova’s offense shone on the court — neither a dark curtain nor Providence could blot out the Wildcats.

Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore scored 15 points apiece, and No. 3 Villanova used a dominating final 20 minutes to defeat Providence 71-56 on Saturday.

Caleb Daniels added 12 points and Jermaine Samuels had 10 for Villanova (10-1, 5-0 Big East), which rebounded from an ugly first half to win its eighth consecutive game.

“We just couldn’t score,” coach Jay Wright said of the first half, when the Wildcats shot 27%.

What changed? “We got used to their length and speed,” Wright said.

But they had to wait for about 15 minutes while a curtain was placed over a window high in Finneran Pavilion from which a stream of sunlight fell on the Providence bench.

“It was blinding, literally blinding,” Wright said.

With the window covered, the sun stopped splashing on the Friars’ faces. But Villanova shots rained down on the basket.

The Wildcats surged out of the locker room, hitting 10 of their first 21 second-half shots, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl’s dunk on a pass from Moore made it 50-38 Villanova with 10:12 remaining. That capped a 26-11 run after halftime.

Villanova got contributions from six players during the spurt, with Daniels’ eight points and Moore’s six leading the way.

“They did a great job in the first half,” Gillespie said. “They’re tough, they’re physical. (In the second half) we were able to get good looks at the rim.”

The Wildcats took control from there, maintaining a double-digit lead the rest of the way. They outscored Providence 47-29 in the second half.