Villanova Men's Basketball
Villanova Comeback Falls Short in Preseason Loss at Virginia
Villanova Men’s Basketball dropped their preseason finale to Virginia on Friday, Oct. 24, falling 75-72 on the road after a last-gasp three-point attempt from freshman point guard Acaden Lewis clanged away.
The Wildcats’ defense stiffened in the final minutes, limiting the Cavaliers to a 1-of-7 clip from the field — including no made shots in the final 4:41 of play — cutting the deficit to 73-70 late when Malachi Palmer stole a pass and turned it into a fastbreak layup. Former Villanova recruiting target Chance Mallory nailed two free throws to reestablish a five-point lead, then a putback from forward Matt Hodge made it 75-72 with ten seconds to play.
Freshman guard Chris Jeffrey stole another pass, giving Villanova a fighting chance, but Lewis, who led the team in points and assists with 16 and 5, couldn’t convert in the final seconds. Five other Wildcats scored in double figures: Malachi Palmer, Matt Hodge, Tyler Perkins and Jeffrey, who led the team with four steals.
Villanova Stays In It
After trailing 22-13 early, Villanova fought back to take the lead after threes from Tafara Gapare (who made his Wildcats debut after missing the game against VCU with a right foot injury) and Palmer, but Mallory responded with a triple of his own to regain the lead. The Cavs never looked back, bookending the half with a 14-5 run.
While Villanova continued their opportunistic defensive play, turning Virginia over 18 times, poor shooting sank their chances. The Wildcats made just six of 26 three-point shots and 14 of 22 free throws, either one of which could’ve changed the outlook of the game: missing guard Bryce Lindsay due to illness along with ongoing injury rehab from Devin Askew and Zion Stanford didn’t help either.
All in all, the Wildcats demonstrated flashes of brilliance this preseason, but not without the lumps one can expect from a young team.
Villanova Men’s Basketball will next take the court on Monday, Nov. 3, playing their season opener against No. 8 BYU in Las Vegas.
