Villanova powers past Lafayette with a strong second-half despite 17 turnovers + Columbia Preview

VILLANOVA, PA—In a season of new beginnings, Villanova’s new players made an instant impact on Monday night in Villanova’s 2024 season opener.

Villanova defeated Lafayette, 75-63, in front of a sold-out Finneran Pavilion in their 2024-25 season opener.

Villanova defeated Lafayette, 75-63, at the Finneran Pavilion. Without Eric Dixon, Wooga Poplar and Enoch Boakye led the way for their first victory of the 2024-25 campaign.

Five Villanova Wildcats scored at least ten points: Poplar, Boakye, Tyler Perkins, Jhamir Brickus, and Josiah Moseley.

Poplar, a Philadelphia native, exploded for 20 points and ten rebounds in 34 minutes. He converted eight of his 13 field goal attempts. Boakye also finished the game with a double-double. He scored 10 points and contributed 11 rebounds, including four offensive rebounds.

After the game, Poplar acknowledged his great performance in his homecoming game back in the Philadelphia area.

“This is where I’m from,” Poplar said. “MCS [Math, Civics and Sciences Charter School], we have the same colors, so everybody is saying like he’s back in that same blue, that same type of color. So, it’s a great experience. I’m just happy to be here.”

Without Eric Dixon, who served a one-game NCAA suspension for participation in the 2024 Portsmouth Invitational, Tyler Perkins started for Villanova. The Penn transfer had a strong performance with 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Jhamir Brickus, a transfer from La Salle, made five of his seven field goal attempts for 13 points with four assists.

Perkins expressed his excitement about being on the other side of Philadelphia basketball with the Wildcats.

“It’s amazing,” Perkins said. “It shows you how good of a place this is. I’m just glad to be here, and I’m ready to get to work with the team.”

Jordan Longino struggled in his 36 minutes of game action against Lafayette. He converted just three of his 14 shots from the field. He missed all five of his three-point attempts. He finished the game with seven points and five assists.

Villanova finished the game with a 51.7% success rate from the field as a team. The Wildcats made four of 13 three-point attempts against Lafayette. Villanova crushed Lafayette in the rebounding battle, 41-25. They totaled 13 offensive rebounds compared to Lafayette’s nine offensive rebounds.

Turnover Trouble

The major issue for Villanova in this game was turnovers. They committed 17 turnovers in their season opener.

Villanova’s Second-Half Surge

Villanova led Lafayette, 30-29, at halftime. However, the Wildcats rebounded with an explosive second half, scoring 45 points. In the final twenty minutes, they converted 61.3% of their shots from the field. Without Dixon, Villanova still won the battle in the paint, 40-34. They were heavily outscored in bench points, 24-12.

In his postgame press conference, Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune discussed the team’s high turnover rate and poor start.

“I thought both teams came out and played extremely hard,” Neptune said. “I give them a lot of credit. I thought they got into us to start the game. Forced a couple of turnovers. A lot of credit to them. I thought we kind of battled through that, weathered that storm.”

The Wildcats’ defense limited Lafayette to just a 38.7% success rate from the field in the second half. Justin Vander Baan led the Leopards with 16 points in 30 minutes. Devin Hines, Lafayette’s leading scorer last season, started off slow in the first half but finished the game with 12 points.

Lafayette’s head coach, Mike McGarvey, played 12 players against the Wildcats on Monday.

Columbia’s Hot Start against Loyola Maryland + 2023-24 Struggles

Villanova now looks ahead to tonight’s non-conference battle against Columbia University. The Lions won their first game of the season on Monday against Loyola Maryland, 81-78. They outscored Loyola Maryland, 46-37, in the second half.

Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa, a senior from Santiago, Dominican Republic, scored 24 points with eight rebounds. Rubio De La Rosa was Columbia’s leading scorer last season, with 14.4 points per game. Kenny Noland accumulated 19 points, including three successful three-point attempts against Loyola Maryland.

Avery Brown, a junior from Beacon Falls, Connecticut, scored nine points on Monday. He finished the 2023-24 season as Columbia’s second-leading scorer with 9.9 points per game.

The Lions scored almost 77 points per game last season. They converted 47% of their shots from the field and 37.5% from behind the arc. Columbia’s defense struggled at times last season, allowing more than 72 points per game. They also averaged more than 12 turnovers per contest last season.

Columbia finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 13-14 overall record, four conference wins in 14 Ivy League games, and a 4-8 record in away games. The Lions ended the season in sixth place in the Ivy League, only above Penn and Dartmouth.

WXVU’s Live Coverage

Tonight’s game begins at 7pm from the Finneran Pavilion. The WXVU Pregame Show will start at 6:30pm. WXVU will also have plenty of social media coverage throughout the evening.