VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP)—Villanova’s high-scoring offense was matched by an impressive defensive effort in the fifth-ranked Wildcats’ season opener.
Randy Foye scored 21 points and Allan Ray added 16 as Villanova routed Stony Brook 78-35 Friday night.
Mike Nardi added 13 points for Villanova, which posted a 46-22 rebounding advantage, and forced 18 Seawolves turnovers.
“Our guys pride themselves on defense,” Wildcats coach Jay Wright said. “They enjoy the challenge. We want them to be consistent on every possession and that’s what they did tonight.”
Wright also gave credit to Villanova’s raucous fans, who were highly animated both before and during the game.
“The crowd really set the tone early,” he said. “Even in the dressing room before the game, we could hear them chanting.”
Foye had 17 of his points in the second half, including three 3-point shots.
“I just let the offense come to me,” he said. “I didn’t try to rush my shots and had good looks.”
Utilizing a suffocating man-to-man defense, the Wildcats jumped out to a 27-10 lead with 8:42 left in the first half.
A 19-4 run at the start of the second half gave Villanova a 56-20 advantage, and the lead ballooned to 67-26 with 5:46 to play.
Will Sheridan had 11 rebounds and Foye had six assists for the Wildcats while Jason Fraser, whose career has been hampered by a series of injuries, added six points and seven rebounds.
“It couldn’t have been any harder,” Stony Brooks coach Steve Pikiell said of debut with the Seawolves. “We have two freshmen walk-on starters and not a lot of veterans, but they played hard.”
Marcus Cox, Bobby Santiago and Tre Cunningham each had seven points for Stony Brook, which made only 16 of 50 shots (32 percent) and one of 11 from the foul line.
About Villanova, Pikiell said: “It’s great when you have great guards and they play very well together. I think Villanova is as good as any team in the county.”
