Notre Dame 65, Villanova 60: Freshman Cameron Biedscheid scored 15 of his career-high 18 points after intermission as the host Fighting Irish used torrid 3-point shooting in the second half to hold off the surging Wildcats.

Jack Cooley posted his third double-double in four games with 17 points and 16 rebounds for Notre Dame (17-4, 5-3 Big East), regaining its edge at home after dropping two of its three at the Joyce Center by shooting 6-for-9 beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes.

Mouphtaou Yarou had a game-high 20 points for Villanova (13-8, 4-4), which was attempting to knock off its third top-four Big East team in as many games after defeating Louisville and Syracuse last week.

Biedscheid carried the offense for the first part of the second half, giving the Irish the lead at 41-39 with his third 3-pointer. Darrun Hilliard hit a layup shortly thereafter, but three straight 3-pointers – including two more from Biedscheid – and two critical jumpers from Tom Knight helped Notre Dame establish a 61-53 cushion with 1:39 left.

Villanova scored five quick points to cut the deficit to three with 28 seconds remaining, but the Irish defense stiffened following their only second-half turnover and Cooley stretched the margin to 63-58 after a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Notre Dame finished with six turnovers and did not commit its first one of the second half until Jerian Grant stepped out of bounds on an inbounds play with 21 seconds remaining. … Villanova led 31-26 at half, the 19th time in 21 games the Wildcats have held the lead at the break. … The Irish – who have assisted on a Big East-best 66.7 percent of their baskets this season – recorded 20 assists on 24 baskets (83 percent) on Wednesday.