Short-Handed Villanova Pushes Winning Streak to Five

VILLANOVA, Pa. — The Villanova Wildcats took down the Old Dominion Monarchs 89-75 at the Finneran Pavilion on Tuesday, Nov. 25, navigating the absence of senior forward Duke Brennan as they won their fifth game in a row.

Tyler Perkins led Villanova (5-1) with 21 points, while true freshman point guard Acaden Lewis finished right behind him with 20, adding four assists and a steal while making eight of 12 shots. Playing without Brennan, who injured his ankle in the Wildcats’ Nov. 19 win at La Salle, Villanova took time to settle in during the first half, trailing 6-0 early against the Monarchs’ zone.

Fellow senior Tafara Gapare provided a plus presence off the bench, setting a team high with 17 first half minutes and logging six points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in that span.

With four ties and seven lead changes in the first half, Villanova struggled to pull away from the Monarchs. They missed six of their first seven shots from three before a late hot streak of four in four minutes. That hot shooting continued after the half, with the Wildcats’ shooting percentage improving from 45.2 in the first half to 64 in the final 20 minutes.

Villanova began the second half on a 7-0 tear that began with a Bryce Lindsay three and ended with a Perkins dunk in transition, forcing a timeout from Monarchs head coach Mike Jones just 79 seconds in. The Wildcats pushed the lead as high as 55-39 before Old Dominion’s shots started to fall, but the Monarchs struggled to close within double digits.

Up next, Villanova will host Temple at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1 in order to determine their matchup in the Big 5 Classic.