Villanova’s battle with Georgetown on Sunday turned into a grind, but the ‘Cats used a late push to pull away and earn the victory, 77-65.

Both teams struggled on the offensive end for much of the game. The Hoyas shot just 33.8 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent from 3. The Wildcats weren’t much better, finishing at 42.1 percent from the field and 29 percent from deep.

‘Nova led by as many as seven in the first half, but a James Akinjo 3 at the buzzer sent the Hoyas to the locker room with a one-point lead.

A 6-0 run to open the second half restored a five-point lead for the ‘Cats, a lead they would hold until Georgetown pulled even at 50. Collin Gillespie and Akinjo traded 3’s to leave the teams deadlock at 53 with 7:27 left in the game.

Over the next five minutes Villanova would rip off a 16-2 run to take a 14-point lead with 2:28 to go, and Georgetown would not threaten again.

Villanova’s defense deserves some credit. The Wildcats held Georgetown 18 points below its season average and held Hoyas’ leading scorer Jessie Govan scoreless on 0-9 shooting. In addition to holding the Hoyas to 33.8 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent from 3, Georgetown shot just 35% on shots at the rim.

The offense was a struggle. Phil Booth scuffled through much of the game before making some big plays down the stretch, and the ‘Cats got only nine points from players not named Collin Gillespie, Eric Paschall, or Phil Booth.

Fortunately, Collin Gillespie was fantastic offensively, pouring in a career-high 30 points. He shot 7-13 from the field, 6-11 from 3, and 10-12 from the foul line. It was great to see him step up when the team desperately needed someone to provide some offense.

Paschall struggled from 3, hitting just 1-6, but was 9-17 overall and finished with 24 points and six rebounds.

Booth rallied from his rough start to finish with 14 points.

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree chipped in six points and seven rebounds before fouling out.

Jermaine Samuels had three points, but was dominant on the glass, grabbing 16 rebounds. Samuels was all over the place, tracking down longer rebounds and also rebounding in traffic. His energy was big for ‘Nova and it was an impressive display.

The ‘Cats managed a slight edge from 3, hitting nine to Georgetown’s eight and on the glass as well, 45-42. But ultimately it was the defense that won the game for Villanova.

It was the Wildcats' ninth straight win over Georgetown.

It wasn’t pretty but it was impressive to watch the ‘Cats fight through the offensive struggles, rely on the defense, and gut out a tough win. ‘Nova has now won 10 in a row and remains undefeated in the Big East halfway through the conference schedule.

Next up is Creighton on Wednesday night.