No. 9 Villanova 65, Georgetown 60: James Bell scored 16 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead the visiting Wildcats over the Hoyas in Big East play.

JayVaughn Pinkston finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for Villanova (18-2, 7-1), which won its second straight game, following its first conference loss to Creighton last Monday. Daniel Ochefu added 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting and Darrun Hilliard II recorded nine points.

Markel Starks led all players with 20 points and five assists for Georgetown (11-9, 3-6), which lost its fifth straight game. Reggie Cameron added 12 points for the Hoyas, who were beaten on the boards 31-28.

Georgetown got the early jump on the Wildcats, scoring the game's first eight points before Villanova answered with nine in a row, ultimately establishing a first half lead as big as seven. The Hoyas pulled to within 30-28 in the final two minutes of the opening 20 before a Hilliard 3-pointer and a jumper from Ochefu sandwiched a layup from Nate Lubick to give Villanova a 35-30 halftime advantage.

Georgetown pulled ahead 41-39 early in the second half as the Wildcats began the frame 1-of-10 from the field. Villanova would jump back in front on a jumper from Tony Chennault near the midway point of the half and after Aaron Bowen was called for an offensive foul with the Hoyas down 61-58 with 33 seconds left, the hosts didn't get another chance at the equalizer as the Wildcats iced the game from the free-throw line.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Villanova won for just the third time in its last 11 games against Georgetown. ... Starks became the 44th Hoya in program history to reach 1,000 career points. ... The Wildcats fell well short of their scoring average of 81.3 coming into the game, registering their third-lowest output of the season.