Moore scores 15, No. 12 Villanova routs Hartford 87-53

Dec 2, 2020, 12:03 am

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- — Justin Moore led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points and No. 12 Villanova bounced back from its first loss of the season to rout Hartford 87-53 on Tuesday.

Eric Dixon had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (3-1), who had six players score in double figures.

The Wildcats shot 52% from the floor and made 15 of their 37 3-point shots.

Traci Carter had 13 points and Austin Williams added 11 points for Hartford (0-2).

Villanova’s first six shots were all from behind the arc. They made three of them, jumped out to a 9-2 lead and never trailed.

A 3-pointer from Cole Swider capped a 13-3 run that put the Wildcats up 31-14.

Moore had 13 points to lead the Wildcats into halftime up 43-24 and they stretched the advantage from there.

A dunk by Jermaine Samuels gave Villanova a 30-point lead at 64-34 with 12 minutes left.

The Wildcats finished their stay in “Bubbleville” at 3-1, falling from third to 12th in the AP Top 25 after staying at the Mohegan Sun casino resort five days longer than they had planned and playing two additional games (this one and Saturday's 83-71 overtime loss to Virginia Tech).

Villanova was originally scheduled be at home this week facing Philadelphia rivals Saint Joseph’s and Temple. But both of those teams had to suspend team activities because of positive tests for the coronavirus.

BIG PICTURE

Villanova: Coach Jay Wright acknowledged playing his starters too much in the Wildcats' loss to Virginia Tech. He went to the bench early against Hartford. Nine Wildcats saw playing time and eight of them played more than 15 minutes. Villanova's bench outscored Hartford's 40-12, led by Dixon and Swider, who had 13 points.

Hartford: The Hawks fell to 1-30 against current members of the Big East. They lost their opener last Friday at UConn, 69-57.

UP NEXT

Villanova: The Wildcats are scheduled to travel to Texas to take on the No. 17 Longhorns on Sunday.

Hartford: The Hawks have a quick turnaround, heading down Interstate 95 for a game at Fairfield on Wednesday.

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