Villanova Drops Duquesne 87-77 as Dukes Get Into Foul Trouble

VILLANOVA, Pa. — The Villanova Wildcats won their third game in a row on Saturday, Nov. 15, taking down the Duquesne Dukes 87-77 at the Finneran Pavilion behind 19 points from freshman Acaden Lewis and a cunning offensive gameplan.

Duquesne led for much of the half, but Villanova managed to crack their defense as the Dukes got into foul trouble, forcing key defenders like Jakub Necas and David Dixon to the bench. The Wildcats made 43.5 percent of their shots and outscored Duquesne 38-28 in the paint during the game as a result of chasing their big men away.

Villanova managed to take 22 foul shots in the first half alone, sinking 16, and finished the frame with a five-of-seven tear from three.  The first of those triples came from senior guard Devin Askew, tying the game 25-25 and electrifying a raucous home crowd. The Wildcats closed the half on a 20-7 run, including an 11-0 span that gave them the lead for good.

Temple transfer Zion Stanford made his Wildcats debut after missing their first three games to injury, eased into the lineup for three minutes in the first half.

Duquesne leading scorer John Hugley found his shot in the second half after going scoreless in the first 20 minutes, of which he played just seven due to foul trouble. He sank two early threes to keep the Wildcats from pulling away, then a 7-0 Dukes run cut the deficit to 59-53. That prompted a timeout from Villanova head coach Kevin Willard: the Wildcats responded with their own 7-0 run and pushed the lead to as much as 21.

Up next, Villanova will travel to North Philly. There they’ll take on La Salle in their Big 5 opener at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 19.