No. 22 Villanova overcomes slow start to cruise past Le Moyne

After Villanova’s commanding 90-63 season-opening win over American, all it had to do was remain consistent for Game 2.

The Wildcats did just that.

In its second game of the season, Villanova comfortably defeated Le Moyne, 83-57, in the Finneran Pavilion, despite senior forward Eric Dixon being held scoreless in 23 minutes of action. It was the Dolphins’ second-ever Division I game, both losses.

“I think our guys did a good job,” head coach Kyle Neptune said. “They weathered some storm[s] and I thought our depth [was there] again.”

Graduate guard Justin Moore led the way with 21 points, while sophomore guard Brendan Hausen went 6-for-7 from deep to score a career-high 18 points.

With Villanova slow to score, Neptune was quick to make substitutions. It only took Neptune less than a minute to sub out starters Mark Armstrong and Tyler Burton after both missed layups within the first 48 seconds of the game.

From there, Villanova struggled to find its rhythm.

In the first 12 minutes of play, the Wildcats shot 37.5% from the field, including 28.6% from behind the arc, compared to the Dolphins’ 55% from the floor.

“Offensively, we know you can make shots, you can miss shots, that’s going to happen,” Neptune said. “Our mindset has been and will continue to be [that] we have to keep getting stops.”

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Villanova finally began to settle in over the latter half of the period and extended its lead to double digits at the 5-minute, 19-second mark on a bucket by TJ Bamba.

Heading into the locker room up 14, Villanova ended the first half shooting 53.3% from the field, including 42.1% from deep. Moore shot 2-of-6 from three-point range and led the Wildcats with 16 first-half points.

After finding their way into the starting lineup for consecutive games, new faces Burton and Bamba continued to impress.

Bamba was the Wildcats’ third-leading scorer with 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists as he went 5-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-6 from behind the arc.

“My main focus is going out to play hard, harder than the opponent,” Bamba said. “Having that mindset going into games [helps you] stay confident.”

Burton had another standout performance with 10 points and a team-best 13 rebounds for his first Villanova double-double.

Burton and Bamba combined to shoot 7-for-7 from the foul line as part of Villanova’s 92.3% free-throw percentage.

Villanova Athletics announced Wednesday that ahead of the Nov. 29 game against St. Joseph’s, the university plans to unveil a newly named street on campus. Located between the Davis Center and the Finneran Pavilion, “The Wright Way,” drive will be dedicated to former head coach Jay Wright.

Villanova will take the court again for its first Big 5 matchup of the 2023-24 season against Penn. The Quakers are 2-1 on the season, with commanding wins against John Jay and Bucknell and a loss to fellow Big 5 school St. Joseph’s. The Wildcats will tip off against Penn on Monday (7 p.m., ESPN+) at the Palestra.