Acaden Lewis scored 19 points and dished out six assists to help Villanova beat visiting Duquesne 87-77 on Saturday night for its third consecutive victory.
Bryce Lindsay added 18 points and Matt Hodge 15 for the Wildcats (3-1), who handed the Dukes (3-1) their first loss of the season.
Tarence Guinyard’s 30-point performance led Duquesne. He was 5-of-6 from beyond the arc while Jimmie Wiiliams added 18 for the Dukes against their former Eastern Eight rival.
Villanova led 45-35 at halftime, then made five consecutive field goals early in the second half, including a 3-pointer from Lindsay, to push its lead to 58-46 with 15:38 left.
The Dukes got as close as six points but could never get over the hump. Vilanova led by as many as 21 but did not make a field goal in the final 4:40.
Duquesne led 13-7 early after a 3-pointer by Alex Williams with 15:50 to go in the first half.
Villanova struggled to counter, missing eight of its first 10 shots and going more than five minutes without a field goal.
The drought ended with 11:10 to play as Duke Brennan hit a jumper to pull the Wildcats within 17-14. The Dukes quickly responded with a 3-pointer by Dom Aekins.
Lindsay hit a 3-pointer at the 5:54 mark that tied the game at 28 and sparked a 19-3 run that ended with another shot from distance by Lindsay, giving the Wildcats a 44-31 lead with 2:32 left in the half.
Villanova went to halftime leading by 10 despite a slow start to the game.
–Field Level Media
