VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) -- Allan Ray scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half and Curtis Sumpter had 23 points and nine rebounds as Villanova defeated Albany 86-72 on Wednesday night.
Randy Foye also had 23 points for the Wildcats (5-1), who connected on 31-of-54 shots.
Jamar Wilson had 19 points and Lucious Jordan added 16 for the Great Danes (4-4), who made 11-of-21 3-point attempts in scoring the most points against Villanova this season.
Villanova took its biggest lead, 68-50, on a 3-pointer by Ray with 9:31 left to play, but Albany then went on an 18-5 run and closed to 73-68 on a 3-pointer by Brent Wilson at the 4:21 mark.
The Wildcats responded with a 9-2 spurt, including a 3-pointer by Sumpter and a three-point play by Foye to end the threat.
Albany trailed 28-18 with five minutes left in the first half but went on a 14-5 run, including two 3-pointers by Jordan, to trail 33-32 at halftime.
The game was the first ever for Albany against Villanova. The America East team will visit another Big East team, Syracuse, on Dec. 28.
