Villanova, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Dylan Ennis led four Villanova starters in double figures with 16 points and the No. 12 Wildcats rattled off nine unanswered points to hold off Bucknell for a 72-65 victory.
Ryan Arcidiacono scored 15 points, Daniel Ochefu had 14 and 10 rebounds and Darrun Hilliard chipped in 10 points for the Wildcats (3-0), who won their 17th straight game within the friendly confines of The Pavilion.
Chris Hass had a game-high 32 points for the Bison (1-2), who have lost seven straight games against Jay Wright's squad.
Bucknell strung together nine straight points to make it a 39-39 game at 14:35. The Bison hung around down the stretch and took their first lead of the game with 3:33 to play after Hass was fouled in 3-point territory and made all three ensuing shots for a 62-61 game.
After an Ochefu layup, Hass drained a trey, but Arcidiacono knocked down two from the charity stripe for a 65-65 score. Ochefu blocked D.J. MacLeay and then split a pair of free throws for a Villanova lead with 1:40 remaining.
Hilliard forced a turnover on Haas, who was pressured and last touched the ball before it went out of bounds with 34 seconds to play. Bucknell was forced to foul Ennis, who increased the Wildcats' lead to 68-65.
Hilliard came up big again as he stole the ball and raced down the court for an uncontested dunk, then Ennis made two foul shots to account for the final score.
Arcidiacono's 3-pointer ignited a 9-0 run to begin the game, with Bucknell's first basket coming nearly five minutes in on John Azzinaro's layup.
Villanova extended its lead to 14 points on a pair of Hilliard free throws, but Hass and J.C. Show drained back-to-back triples for Bucknell in the final minute to make it a 33-26 game heading into the break.
Game Notes
The Wildcats started 3-0 for the eighth straight season ... Bucknell last defeated Villanova on Dec. 8, 1945 ... Villanova now leads the all-time series, 16-8 ... Wright graduated from Bucknell in 1983 ... The Bison outrebounded the Wildcats, 38-31 ... Bucknell shot 47.1 percent (24-of-51), while Villanova made 38.9 percent (21-of-54) of its shots.
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