Box Score VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova (2-1 overall) overcame a slow offensive start to down Delaware State 60-50 before a sellout crowd of 6,501 at Finneran Pavilion Monday night.
 
Eric Dixon led the Wildcats with 17 points and seven rebounds. Freshmen Mark Armstrong and Brendan Hausen gave the VU offense a second half jolt, each scoring seven points in the win.
 
"This was a grind," stated Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "This is what college basketball is all about. Teams have gameplans, and they execute it. In the first half they made it really tough on us. They played extremely hard and made shots. To our guys' credit, we took their runs, just grinded, and eventually by the end I thought we were playing the way we need to.
 
"We have a young team. We're a work in progress. I was proud of the guys' resiliency and the way they fought tonight."
 
Delaware State (1-2 overall) jumped out to a 5-0 advantage as it dropped in its first two attempts from the field before Eric Dixon got the 'Cats on the scoreboard. The Hornets then scored the next four in a row to push the margin to 9-2 as Nova misfired on six of its first seven attempts from the floor. Another 3-pointer, this one from Khyrie Staten, pushed the lead to 12-2 after 5:21 of action.
 
Dixon scored twice more but Nova still struggled to find the range. It missed its first 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc to fall behind 16-8 with 11:32 to play in the first half. The Hornets extended the advantage to 22-12, at one point sinking four of five from the floor as the contest dipped below the 10-minute mark in the first half.
 
The Wildcats made some headway at the free throw line, pulling to within 27-22 at the 4:04 mark. Villanova held the Hornets without a field goal over the final five plus minutes of the period but could only shave the margin by two, 27-24, which is where the contest stood after 20 minutes.
 
It was a difficult first half at the offensive end for Nova. The Wildcats were 6-of-7 from the floor and 12-of-13 at the line. However, they were 0-of-16 from beyond the 3-point arc. Meanwhile, the Hornets were 11-of-22 from the field (.500) and owned a 17-11 rebounding advantage.
 
Dixon and Slater led Villanova with eight points each. Staten's five points paced a balanced Hornets attack.
 
"That happens in basketball," stated Neptune. "We were 0-of-16 from three in the first half and I think all but two were good looks. We just missed them. If we can take those same shots every game, we'll take them. Sometimes they just don't go in. The important piece is that our defense held and we were able to force them into some tough shots."
 
Slater finally cracked the code from deep early in the second half but the Hornets answered with one of their own to maintain a 32-28 lead after 4:16 of the period. A pair of freshmen, however, Brendan Hausen and Mark Armstrong gave the 'Cats an offensive boost, sparking a 12-4 burst that gave VU a 40-36 lead as the contest moved towards the midpoint of the second half.
 
The Wildcats pushed their lead to 51-45 with just over four minutes left but the Hornets cut that in half on 3-pointer by Brandon Stone with 3:35 on the clock. But a Dixon 3-pointer from the right corner as the shot clock was winding down proved to be a dagger, pushing the lead to 58-50 with 2:20 left.
 
"At halftime, we just wanted to stay together and stay confident," said Dixon. "I'm with these guys every day. We weren't making shots, but I don't think we had any wavering confidence. When we were 0-of-16, we were thinking the 17^th one will go down."
 
"When you're making shots, it's easy. When you're not making shots, you've got to band together and come together to grind it out. I thought we did a good job of that."
 
Up next for Villanova is the first trip in program history to East Lansing, Mich., to meet the Michigan State Spartans. Those teams will battle in the annual Gavitt Games at 8 p.m. at the Breslin Student Events Center (FS1 and the Villanova Sports Radio Network).