Villanova handled business Saturday afternoon with a sturdy all-around performance against Georgetown to earn an 80-66 win.

The first half was a wildly entertaining back and forth affair, although perhaps it wasn’t quite the kind of game Villanova was hoping to play.

The ‘Cats managed to get off to a good start, hitting some shots and jumping out to an early six-point lead. In a sign of things to come, Georgetown quickly responded. The Hoyas took the lead at the 12:54 mark, 17-16. The teams traded blows for about three minutes, trading the lead back and forth, before Villanova ripped off a 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead. Georgetown came back with six straight of their own before the teams again traded blows down the stretch with ‘Nova emerging with a three-point lead at the break.

In a refreshing turn of events, Villanova was hot in the first half, finishing the period shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from deep, knocking down 10 three-pointers. However, the ‘Cats were losing both the rebounding and turnover battles, including giving up five offensive rebounds to the Hoyas, and as a result, Georgetown managed five extra shot attempts, helping it to offset Villanova’s 21-point advantage from three. The pace was also in Georgetown’s favor for much of the half, although the Wildcats were able to even things out in that regard down the stretch.

Saddiq Bey was fantastic for the ‘Cats with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 5-of-7 from three.

A 7-0 spurt from ‘Nova to start the second half pushed the lead to 10, and although Georgetown closed to within five at one point, the Wildcats more or less controlled the game from there and eventually ran away with a comfortable 14-point win.

‘Nova did a much better job controlling the pace in the second half, spurred by an improved defensive effort. The ‘Cats also did an excellent job on the glass in the second half and ended up winning the rebounding battle 36-30. Georgetown finished the game shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from three. Villanova connected on 47.4 percent from the field and 51.7 percent from three. The ‘Cats built a 30-point advantage from beyond the arc. They also assisted on 20 of 27 made field goals.

As we mentioned, Bey was huge for Villanova, finishing with a career-high 33 points. He was 10-of-15 from the floor and 8-of-10 from three.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl put together a nice game for the ‘Cats, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Collin Gillespie rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points to go with five assists, four rebounds, a steal, and a block.

Jermaine Samuels contributed nine points, six rebounds, and five assists. Cole Swider had six points and five rebounds.

Brandon Slater had four points and two rebounds off the bench, while Justin Moore chipped in three points, five assists, and four rebounds.

It was a really good all-around performance from the ‘Cats. It was nice to see some shots going down, the ball movement was good, and the defense was solid. Holding Georgetown to 66 points is no small feat. As a result, ‘Nova got an important Big East win to move to 3-1 in the conference as they continue to put pressure on conference leaders Butler and Seton Hall.

With the win, Jay Wright tied John Thompson for third in all-time Big East wins.

The ‘Cats will look to keep things rolling on Tuesday when they host DePaul.