It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win.
Villanova led by just five at halftime, giving the fans at the Finneran Pavilion a sweat. Over the final 20 minutes, the Wildcats took over.
Villanova scored 44 points in the second half of an 80-59 Big 5 victory over La Salle.
Luigi Suigo scored the first points of the game at the 17:17 mark in the first half and it jumpstarted the best game of his young Villanova career. The big man finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists while shooting 8-for-12
from the field.
The Wildcats (2-1) led by as many as nine in the first half, but could not shake La Salle (1-2) — mainly because of the offensive glass.
La Salle was not shy from three-point range, and this led to long rebounds all game long. The Explorers outrebounded Villanova, 41-39, and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds. Villanova also kept La Salle in the game from the free throw line, finishing 11-for-18.
Villanova led by two on multiple occasions early in the second half and allowed La Salle to hang around midway through as well with leads hanging around seven.
A Tyler Perkins three gave Villanova a 69-55 lead with 6:17 left and this was the cushion that the Wildcats needed. The Wildcats closed the game on an 11-4 run to make the score look a bit more convincing than the game was.
Devin Royal finished with a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Perkins and Jake Fiegen scored 10 points each. Villanova showed great depth with nine different players scoring at least four points.
The Wildcats did what they needed to do in the second half following a battle from La Salle in the first half. It is just game three of the season and there are still some problems that need to be ironed out, but the team has to continue to get better each time out.
Villanova will be back in action on Saturday night with a home matchup against Rider.
