Villanova, PA (Betting Express) - Scottie Reynolds scored 19 points, including a 9-of-10 foul shooting performance, as 23rd-ranked Villanova held off Niagara, 77-62, in a Philly Hoop Group Classic matchup.

Corey Fisher added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Wildcats (3-0), as head coach Jay Wright notched his 150th win at Villanova. Reggie Redding contributed 14 points in the win.

"Having the games so close together is obviously tough and especially with us playing with eight or nine guys," said Reynolds. "You just have to be smart and mature and learn from your mistakes on film. We have to get better a little quicker after each game and step on the floor with an idea of what we want to do. If we don't, we won't perform the way we want to."

Tyrone Lewis led Niagara (1-1) with 16 points, and shot 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Rob Garrison added 15 points for the Purple Eagles, while Bilal Benn -- a transfer from Villanova -- finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

"Later in the season we want to look back at this game and realize that it made us better," said Niagara coach Joe Mihalich. "We have to know that we are a good team and in a game like this we should have played better against a good team but realized we belonged there. Sometimes things like that sound hollow but they are true with us."

Early in the second half Niagara whittled its deficit down to just two points. A Lewis three, Benson Egemonye three-point play and a Benn free throw brought the Purple Eagles within 40-38 a little more than three minutes in.

But Villanova responded with a run of its own and led 50-40 on a Redding three with 12:19 remaining. The Wildcats held the margin, and went up 62-48 on a Redding jumper with a little more than seven minutes left.

Niagara stayed close, and got within 70-61 on a jumper from Garrison with 2:49 left, but the teams missed several shots before Reynolds made a pair of free throws with just over a minute left, and Villanova held on from there.

Villanova had built a double-digit lead in the first half, but a Garrison jumper with a minute left brought Niagara within 36-30 at halftime.

Game Notes

Benn, a Philadelphia native, played 48 games over two seasons for Villanova, averaging just 1.8 points per game...Wildcats senior forward Shane Clark, who underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery on November 6, played in his second game back and notched two points in 14 minutes...This was Villanova's 18th consecutive win at The Pavilion and extended the program's second-longest winning streak in its on-campus home.