Bryce Lindsay and Tyler Perkins scored 19 points apiece as host Villanova rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to secure a 71-66 Big East victory over DePaul on Wednesday night.
After falling behind 50-40 with 10:54 to play, the Wildcats (11-2, 2-0) drilled six of their next seven 3-point attempts to ruin DePaul’s bid to win on Villanova’s home floor for the first time since 2007.
CJ Gunn paced DePaul (8-6, 0-3) with 15 points and seven rebounds before fouling out as the Blue Demons were whistled for 25 fouls compared to 14 for the Wildcats. Layden Blocker added 13 points as the Blue Demons lost to Villanova for the seventh time in a row overall and the 15th consecutive time at Villanova.
Villanova broke out to a 12-6 lead in the first four minutes as Perkins cashed a 3-pointer and a conventional 3-point play, but DePaul reeled off nine straight points, highlighted by Benson’s second alley-oop and Gunn’s flip in the lane against Villanova’s 2-3 zone.
DePaul pushed its lead to 30-21 as Gunn scored 13 first-half points, but foul trouble forced every starter except Gunn to the bench. That led to the Blue Demons committing turnovers on four straight possessions, which enabled Villanova to pull within 32-28 at the break.
DePaul resumed rolling for the first 10 minutes of the second half. When Blocker ran a pick-and-roll and fed Benson for a ferocious alley-oop jam, DePaul took a 42-34 lead and forced Villanova to take a timeout with 16:22 to go.
While Villanova’s offensive miseries continued, Blocker drove into the paint and found RJ Smith unguarded for a 3-pointer from the wing that gave the Blue Demons their largest lead at 50-40 and made the Wildcats spend another timeout with 10:54 left.
Villanova ripped off eight straight points quickly, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Bryce Lindsay, but Smith answered with another 3-pointer to restore a 5-point lead.
Gunn and Smith (11 points) soon joined Kaleb Banks on the DePaul bench with four fouls, which limited the Blue Demons’ offensive options and gave Villanova momentum. Perkins and Devin Askew swished 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give Villanova a 59-58 edge with 5:03 to play — the Wildcats’ first lead since 12-11 — and DePaul never caught up.
