Tyler Perkins scored a season-best 21 points, Acaden Lewis continued his strong start to his freshman season with 20 and Villanova pulled away in the second half for an 89-75 victory over visiting Old Dominion on Tuesday night.

Perkins scored 14 in the second half, including a jumper that gave Villanova (5-1) a 12-point lead in the opening minutes before hitting two 3-pointers in the final four minutes. The guard made 8 of 13 shots and grabbed seven rebounds.

Lewis finished one shy of his season high and sank three layups in the opening minutes of the second half when Villanova expanded on its four-point halftime lead. The guard made 8 of 12 shots and added four assists.

Bryce Lindsay and Matt Hodge added 12 points apiece as Villanova withstood the absence of the nation’s top rebounder, Duke Brennan (lower-body injury). The Wildcats shot 64% in the second half, and 53.6 % overall, in their first meeting with Old Dominion since a three-overtime loss in the 1995 NCAA tournament.

Jordan Battle led Old Dominion (3-5) with 19 points on 4-of-7 shooting and nine free throws. Robert Davis Jr. added 11 and Jared Turner finished with 10 as the Monarchs shot 45.3%.

A competitive opening half ended with a 40-36 Wildcats lead after Lewis sank a right-handed layup off the glass while fading away with 34 seconds left. Villanova scored the first seven after halftime and took a 47-36 lead a little over a minute in when Lewis stole the ball from LJ Thomas and found Perkins in the open floor for an easy dunk.

Villanova’s lead reached 55-39 when Perkins stole the ball from Thomas and found Lewis for a transition basket with 16:07 left.

The Monarchs scored eight straight points and a free throw by Turner sliced the lead to 68-60 with 8:19 left, but the Wildcats finished it off, taking an 82-68 lead on a triple by Perkins with 3:57 left.

–Field Level Media