Villanova 79, Connecticut 70

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Coach Jay Wright's pressure defense forced 24 turnovers and Gary Buchanan scored 28 points to lead Villanova to a 79-70 victory over 19th-ranked Connecticut Saturday in a battle for first place in the Big East East division.

The Wildcats (14-9, 7-3 Big East) entered with four losses in their last five games, but Wright's assortment of traps bothered guards Ben Gordon and Tony Robertson, who combined for 12 of the 22 turnovers.

Gordon played despite being arrested early Friday on misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault and disorderly conduct after allegedly slapping a female student in the face. He was released on $1,000 bond.

The Huskies' leading scorer, Gordon appeared affected by the incident in the first half, hitting just 1-of-7 shots for three points. But in the second half, Gordon scored 22 of his 25 points.

It was not enough for Connecticut (15-6, 6-4), which pulled within 65-63 with 4:13 left when Gordon converted five free throws in a seven-second span.

However, Ricky Wright scored on a follow dunk and Buchanan connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:11 left to increase Villanova's advantage to 70-63. It was the sixth 3-pointer of the game for Buchanan, who fell one point shy of matching a season high.

Connecticut has been without point guard Taliak Brown for three games since he underwent surgery to repair a broken left index finger on Feb. 7.