On Tuesday, Nov. 25, Villanova secured its fifth consecutive win with an 89-75 victory over Old Dominion University.

The Wildcats (5-1) were without senior forward Duke Brennan due to a right ankle sprain he suffered in the previous games against La Salle on Nov. 19. Old Dominion (4-2) took advantage of Villanova’s early defensive struggles to climb out to a 6-0 lead, shooting 54.5% from beyond the arc in the first half. However, a Villanova scoring run to open the second half buried any chance at an ODU win.

Redshirt freshman center Braden Pierce, in his first start, filled in for Brennan, scoring two points over 13 minutes. However, senior forward Tafara Gapare took a majority of what would be Brennan’s minutes, playing 30 minutes off the bench.

Brennan’s absence was especially felt in the first half after Villanova was forced to play small-ball lineups.

“I think that’s something that we’re still not very good at,” Villanova head coach Kevin Willard said. “Because we just haven’t had time to practice it.”

Villanova junior guard Tyler Perkins totaled a team-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Perkins shot 8-for-13 (61.5%) from the field and 3-for-4 (75%) on three-pointers.

ODU opened a close-fought first half with junior guard Robert Davis Jr. securing 11 of the Monarchs’ 36  points. However, Davis Jr. was unable to score in the second half, and senior guard Jordan Battle led ODU with 19 points to close out the game.

Villanova’s three-pointers failed to connect throughout the first half, with the Wildcats shooting 1-for-7 beyond the arc to open the game.

However, the Wildcats were able to pull off a slim 40-36 lead at the end of the first half.

Perkins’ breakaway and slam dunk, which followed a Lindsay three-pointer, opened the second half with a bang, effectively setting the tone for the final twenty minutes. The sequence kicked off a 12-3 Villanova run, which helped stretch its lead and keep ODU at bay.

Hodge was a critical part of the Wildcats’ second-half performance, while he faced off against his father, ODU assistant Odell Hodge, on the opposite bench tonight. 

“It meant a lot,” Hodge said. “It’s been a long time, I couldn’t play last year, and he has a busy schedule as well, so it was fun to have him there.”

Redshirt freshman Matt Hodge finished with 12 points and tied a team-high seven rebounds.

The Wildcats were able to close out the game with a 14-point lead, shooting 38% (10-for-26) on three-pointers. 

Villanova’s shooting from the field stayed consistent with its near 50% (30-for-56) performance last week against La Salle.

Lewis found his rhythm in the second half, scoring 12 of his 20 total points, just one point shy of a career high performance. He shot 8-for-12 (66.6%) from the field and 2-for-4 (50%) from three.

“Well, he’s super talented,” Willard said. “You look at college basketball, and this freshman class is loaded. This is probably one of the best freshman classes within about the past 5 to 10 years.”

Willard went on to emphasize the growth he’s looking to see from Lewis, but the approval of his performance in games where everyone needed to step up a bit more.

“So we got a really, really talented freshman,” Willard said. “And he’s just doing what he’s going to get better and better every game.”

Old Dominion came out on top in three-point shooting, managing to score 47.8% (11-23) beyond the arc, in contrast to Villanova’s 38.5%. Due to a defensively aggressive second half, the Wildcats won the rebound battle, 34-29.

Villanova will now host Temple University (4-3) on Monday, Dec. 1, in its second Big 5 matchup (6:30 p.m., FS1). The winner will advance to the championship games of the Big 5 Classic triple-header on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.