Gillespie has 28, lifts No. 19 Villanova over DePaul

CHICAGO » Archbishop Wood grad Collin Gillespie scored a season-high 28 points, and No. 19 Villanova beat DePaul 79-64 on Saturday.

Gillespie shot 5 of 9 from the field and sank all five of his free throws in the second half as the Wildcats (11-4, 4-1 Big East) earned their fourth straight win. Gillespie also added a teamhigh four assists and four rebounds.

Justin Moore scored 21 points and had seven rebounds, while Abington grad Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels chipped in with 11 and nine points, respectively, for the Wildcats.

Timely dunks from Daniels and Dixon and going 20 of 22 at the free throw line helped Villanova protect its lead.

The Blue Demons (9-5, 0-4 Big East) got a careerhigh 34 points from guard Javon Freeman-Liberty, who was explosive in the first half with 22 points. He also had six rebounds and three steals.

A 3-pointer from Daniels and a basket inside by Gillespie gave the Wildcats a 28-24 lead in the first half. The Blue Demons closed with a 13-4 run to take a 37-32 lead into the break, then missed 11 of their first 12 shots in the second half to squander the lead.

The Blue Demons have lost 21 straight games to the Wildcats, dating back to 2008.

NO. 3 PURDUE 74, PENN STATE 67 » Trevion Williams, coming off the bench for the first time in five games, scored 21 points including the final go-ahead basket, and No. 3 Purdue held off Penn State 74-67 on Saturday.

The 6-foot-11 Williams was 9-of-12 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds despite sitting out over eight minutes of the second half after picking up his third foul.

When he did return with eight minutes remaining he scored 10 points including a bucket that restored the Boilermakers’ lead after Greg Lee’s 3-pointer had given Penn State its first edge since late in the first half.

Williams added a threepoint play with a minute left for a five-point lead and the Nittany Lions missed a pair of 3-pointers.

Penn State, which was only 1 of 5 from the arc in the first half and missed its first four 3-point attempts in the second, finally found its range hitting seven 3s in the final 12 minutes with the last being Lee’s goahead shot.

Mason Gillis added 14 points, Sasha Stefanovic 13 and Jaden Ivey 12 for Purdue (13-2, 2-2 Big Ten).

Jalen Pickett scored 21 points with 10 assists for Penn State (7-6, 2-3). Lee added 11 points and Seth Lundy and John Harrar 10 each.

Leading by five at halftime, Purdue built a 13-point lead after a Stefanovic 3-pointer with 12 minutes to go.

Penn State’s largest lead was seven points, coming after a 9-0 run midway through the first half. Purdue responded with its own 9-0 run and the rest of the half remained tight with the Boilermakers leading 35-30 at halftime.

The teams’ statistical performances were evenly matched though Purdue’s had an advantage in points off turnovers (16-9) and points in the paint (36-28). It has won 12 of the last 13 meetings with Penn State. NO. 12 HOUSTON 76, WICHITA STATE 66 » Josh Carlton had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 12 Houston over Wichita State 76-66 on Saturday.

Carlton, who scored a career-high 30 points to go with 11 rebounds in a win Wednesday at South Florida, was eight of 12 from the field. He also blocked four shots.

Taze Moore scored 17 points, Fabian White Jr. added 15 and Jamal Shead had 10 points and seven assists for the Cougars. Houston (14-2, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) won its sixth straight and extended its home winning streak to 34 games.