A 14-point second-half comeback by Villanova men’s basketball was not enough as the team fell to No. 8 Brigham Young University, 71-66, at the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas.
Villanova (0-1) took on one of the top-ranked teams in the country in BYU, ranked No. 8 in the AP Preseason Poll, and its five-star freshman AJ Dybantsa. The Wildcats struggled to find rhythm from beyond the arc in the first half, shooting 26% (5-19). In total, the Wildcats shot 40% (24-67) on field goals and 29% (10-35) from beyond the arc.
BYU (1-0) grabbed 49 rebounds to Villanova’s 43 and averaged 39.4% (26-66) from the field.
“That was a road game,” Villanova coach Kevin Willard said. “To have your first game with 13 new guys and for them to show the fight to find a way to get some stops, yeah, definitely [it was positive].”
Villanova sophomore guard Bryce Lindsay came off the bench to pour in a team-high 22 points, shooting 7-14 from the field and 5-9 on three-pointers. It was his third-best career scoring game. Lindsay scored 19 of Villanova’s 34 second-half points.
“My teammates were fine with me,” Lindsay said when asked about his second-half shooting. “I don’t really like the forced shots, so I just gave my shots up within the flow of the game.”
Lindsay was one of two double-digit scorers for the Wildcats, the other being freshman guard Chris Jeffrey with 11 points.
In the first half, Villanova started cold from beyond the arc. The Wildcats began 1-10 on three-pointers despite finding multiple open looks.
Villanova junior guard opened up the game, scoring Villanova’s first four points. He quickly jumped out to a team-high five points, but managed only three points for the remainder of the game.
Three Wildcats played their first-ever collegiate minutes in the season opener. Freshman guard Acaden Lewis and freshman forward Matt Hodge started, while Jeffrey came in off the bench.
With the help of Dybansta, the Cougars were comfortably in control of the game as the half approached. Dybansta totaled 21 points in his collegiate debut. He shot 9-18 (50%) from the field along with six rebounds and three assists.
“I had one of those last year, they’re fun,” Willard said when asked about the star freshman. “When you got a talented freshman like that, that’s a first, second pick in the draft, which he is. He’s one of the best high school players I’ve seen come out in a long time,” Willard said. “He’s got great size, great length, and he’s much tougher for a kid his age, so he’s the real deal.”
With a minute left in the half, a pair of three-pointers from Hodge and Jeffrey shrank Villanova’s deficit to six points. However, BYU made four free throws and junior guard Kennard Davis Jr. knocked in a three-pointer with two seconds left on the clock.
Villanova trailed BYU, 42-32, at halftime. The Wildcats had 10 offensive rebounds and 16 second-chance points.
In the second half, the Wildcats intermittently found spurts of offense that allowed them to slowly cut down the 10-point deficit. Senior forward Duke Brennan slammed down a dunk to cap off a 6-0 Villanova run.
However, BYU maintained its offensive dominance, allowing the Cougars to climb to a 14-point lead two minutes into the second half. Sophomore guard Robert Wright III totaled eight points in the second half to finish the game with 14.
BYU only had four scorers in the second half, compared to seven in the first.
Lindsay scored 12 consecutive Villanova points over roughly 10 minutes to erase the 14-point deficit. A three-pointer from Lindsay with seven minutes game gave Villanova a 56-55 lead over BYU.
Multiple miscues from the Wildcats to end the game took away any chance of a comeback upset. Senior forward Tafara Gapare traveled after the final media timeout. It was followed by Jeffrey missing a drive to the basket and Lindsay missing the first shot of a 1-and-1.
“We did some really good things in the second half defensively,” Willard said. “It happened at Virginia, too. Offensively, we’re taking some bad shots, some early shots that are causing bad defense.”
Villanova now returns home for the Villanova Challenge, a three-team multi-team tournament. The Wildcats will host Queens University (North Carolina) on Saturday, Nov. 8 (7:00 p.m., ESPN+). Villanova will not leave the Philadelphia Tri-State Area again until Dec. 9.
