Eric Dixon’s 33 points not enough as Villanova suffers a surprising loss to Columbia

Columbia delivered one of the worst home losses of Villanova coach Kyle Neptune’s tenure Wednesday night when the Lions (2-0) pulled away from the Wildcats (1-1) in the second half to claim a 90-80 victory at the Finneran Pavilion.

Villanova graduate forward Eric Dixon scored 33 points in his season debut. It wasn’t enough to best the Lions, who were led by senior guard Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa’s 22 points.

The Wildcats struggled on both ends of the floor. Columbia converted 21 points off 12 Villanova turnovers, and outscored the Wildcats’ bench, 25-11.

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Here are some key takeaways from Wednesday night’s loss.

Villanova’s bench did not score until 5 minutes, 30 seconds were left in the game, when freshman forward Josiah Moseley scored on a jumper from the foul line.

The scoring effort was slim outside of Dixon, who was a point shy of matching his career-high.

Senior guard Wooga Poplar notched 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting, and senior guard Jordan Longino contributed 14 points on 4-for-13 shooting.

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“We have a lot of confidence in the guys that are out there and the guys that are coming in,” Neptune said.

The Wildcats went five minutes without a field goal late in the second half, allowing the Lions’ lead to build to 11 with 5:56 to play. It would climb as high as 13.

Columbia scored 21 points off 11 Villanova turnovers. It was the Cats’ second consecutive double-figure turnover game. Villanova had 14 such games last season.

“Our habits aren’t where they need to be right now,” Neptune said. “It seems like it’s simple things. Taking the ball in bounds, coming back, being strong with the ball, making entry passes. We’ve just got to get way more solid.”

Dixon crossed the 1,500-point career threshold with his first basket of the night, a pull-up foul-line jumper to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead 58 seconds into the game.

“It’s a great honor,” Dixon said. “Obviously, it’s not the main focus tonight, but it’s something to look back on a couple years down the line.”

He became the 35th member of Villanova’s 1,500-point club, joining former teammates Justin Moore and Collin Gillespie.

Villanova will face New Jersey Institute of Technology (0-1) at home on Friday (8:30 p.m., FS2). The Highlanders’ first game was a 58-57 loss to Penn that was decided on a final-second free throw.