Daniels bounces back in 2nd half in big way for ’Cats
Caleb Daniels struggled in Villanova’s win over Texas last Sunday. He played just 18 minutes, scored two points and had four turnovers.
The 6-4 junior bounced back in a big way Friday night against Georgetown. Daniels saved 12 of his 18 points for the second half to help the ninth-ranked Wildcats climb out of a 13-point hole for a 77-63 victory over the Hoyas in the Big East opener for both teams.
Daniels was perfect from the field in the final 20 minutes, hitting all four of his shots overall and three from 3-point range to share game-high honors with teammate Collin Gillespie. Daniels was quick to credit his teammates for his performance.
“Us getting stops fueled our offense as a complete team,” Daniels said. “We just wanted to come out in the second half and get stops, rebound the ball first and attack second, and offense (will) take care of itself. Our defense pretty much stimulated our offense and that’s pretty much how we got going.”
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NOTES » Forward Cole Swider also came up big in the second half. He had eight of his 10 points after the break on 3-for-5 shooting, including a 2-for-4 effort from deep. Swider is averaging 10.3 points and shooting almost 39 percent from 3-point range. … Guard Justin Moore only scored five points, but grabbed eight rebounds and handed out six assists. … This was only the third time the Wildcats played at McDonough Arena and the first since a 70-54 loss on Feb. 4, 1981. Villanova also dropped an 89-74 decision on Feb. 9, 1955. McDonough opened in December 1951.
Schedule Changes
Saint Joseph’s announced updates to its men’s basketball schedule. The Hawks will visit No. 12 Tennessee on Dec. 21. Tip-off is 6 p.m. SJU’s game with Drexel has been moved from the previous Wednesday to Thursday, Dec. 17. That game will also start at 6 p.m. The game against Mount St. Mary’s on Dec. 19 has been canceled due to a positive test within the Mountaineers’ program.
The Hawks have been on pause since Nov. 29 due to a positive COVID result among the program’s Tier 1 personnel.
The Villanova women will host Creighton in a
Big East game at the Pavilion on Dec. 19. Tip-off is 1 p.m. The addition is a result of Butler pausing due to COVID protocols on Thursday. The Bulldogs were supposed to face the Bluejays on Dec. 19.
The Wildcats (5-0 overall, 1-0 Big East) will play four times in a 10-day span starting with Sunday’s game against Drexel at home. Villanova visits Providence on Dec. 16, hosts Creighton on Dec. 19 and then Connecticut (Dec. 22) to close out the first portion of the schedule.