MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- No. 5 Villanova used good shooting, great guard play and tough defense to beat No. 4 West Virginia, 82-75, tonight at WVU Coliseum.

The Wildcats built a 44-33 lead at half-time as the Mountaineers were not able to cool off their shooters.

Villanova made 19-of-30 shots (63 percent), including 4-for-7 from the 3-point line (57 percent), in the first half and answered every West Virginia run with a big shot.

The Wildcats took control of the first half with an early 13-3 run which turned a 7-6 deficit into a 19-10 lead.

Villanova pushed the lead to 13 points -- 32-19 -- a few minutes later before the Mountaineers used a 9-4 run to claw their way back to within 36-28.

However, Dominic Cheeks hit a 3-pointer to put Villanova up by 11 again and the Wildcats maintained that lead through the half.

West Virginia tightened up on defense -- and also got a couple of huge 3-pointers from little-used reserve Casey Mitchell -- in order to claw its way to within three points -- 62-59 -- with 7:57 to play.

The Wildcats pushed the lead back to six -- 70-64 -- thanks to the ability of Wildcats point guard Scottie Reynolds to create lay-ups for his teammates.

Mitchell hit a 3-pointer, was fouled and completed the four-point play by making the free throw to pull the Moutnaineers to within 74-69 with 1:59 to play.

But Villanoa's Corey Stokes made a lay-up then the Mountaineers John Flowers missed a jumper and Reynolds put the game away by making two free throws.

West Virginia didn't do itself any favors from the free throw line, either, as the Mountaineers made only 18-of-32 foul shots (56 percent) while the Wildcats were 19-for-22 (86 percent).

Villanova (21-2, 10-1 in the Big East) was led by Reynolds, who had 21 points -- 19 of which came in the second half -- five assists and three steals. Reynolds was 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Five players reached double figures for West Virginia (19-4, 8-3), including Darryl "Truck" Bryant, who had a team-high 15 points and added four rebounds.

This was the first time that WVU Coliseum has hosted a game between two top five teams.

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