NEWARK, N.J. – The Villanova Wildcats got 41 points from a trio of rookies – Cam Whitmore (19), Mark Armstrong (13), and Brendan Hausen (nine) – on their way to a 77-56 victory over former BIG EAST rival Boston College (5-6 overall, 0-1 ACC) at the Never Forget Tribute Classic here Saturday.
 
The Wildcats (5-5 overall) held the Eagles to 26 second half points while matching a season-high in 3-point field goals (13). The 21-point win was their largest margin of victory thus far in 2022-23.
 
"I'm really proud of the way our guys came out and competed," stated Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "They presented a lot of challenges to us with a lot of guys who can make plays. We executed the game plan and came out with the win."
 
In his first college appearance in his native New Jersey, former St. Peter's Prep standout Armstrong scored the Wildcats' first seven points to help push Villanova to a 7-5 lead after 4:38 of action. Classmate Cam Whitmore added five points after he entered the game, part of a 13-3 run that gave the Wildcats a 16-8 lead over the Eagles.
 
"We have a bunch of guys who can really score," said Neptune, "and Mark is one of them. At any time Mark can go off or Cam or Caleb or Brandon Slater. We focus more on the defensive end, where we have a lot of room to grow. But we are making progress."
 
This was Armstrong's first ever appearance at the Prudential Center where a crowd of 9,437 was present Saturday.
 
"For us it's about playing 94 by 50 feet and playing for our teammates and coaches," said Armstrong when asked about the opportunity to play not far away from his South Orange, N.J. home. "It was just a great atmosphere playing with my teammates, coming back to Jersey, to play for Villanova."
 
Neptune explained why it can be daunting for first year players to make an immediate impact.
 
"If you go look around the country, there's not a lot of freshmen playing heavy minutes," noted Neptune. "For a reason – it's tough. There are bigger bodies than you see in high school and there is way more of a scheme you have to follow. You have to understand offensive concepts, defensive concepts. You're playing against high-level coaching. It's tough.
 
"We knew coming into the year we had a team with a lot of really talented young guys. We knew their best basketball would come towards the end of the season. I still believe that's true. We still have a lot of room to grow."
 
Boston College narrowed its deficit to 22-17 with guard Jaeden Zachary doing some of the Eagles' damage at the offensive end of the court. The Wildcats, meanwhile, endured a field goal drought of 4:15 before Eric Dixon scored on a jump hook to push the margin back to 24-17 with a little more than six minutes to play in the period.
 
Villanova then got 3-pointers on consecutive possessions from a third rookie, Hausen, and Armstrong to nudge their lead up to 30-21 before the Eagles got a traditional 3-point play from Prince Aligbe to cut the margin to 30-24 with 3:50 left in the period. But an 8-0 burst during which the Wildcats held the Eagles without a field goal for nearly three minutes helped carry Villanova to a 40-30 lead at halftime.
 
The rookies were the offensive story as Whitmore (13 points), Armstrong (10 points) and Hausen (three points) combined for 26 first half points. Aligbe led BC with 10 points. The Wildcats forced nine first half turnovers.
 
Two free throws by Chris Arcidiacono and a 3-pointer from Caleb Daniels helped Villanova nudge its lead to 48-36 at the 15:33 mark of the second half. Later in the period, a series of defensive stops helped Villanova craft a 9-0 run that was capped by a Whitmore steal in the backcourt and a slam dunk to extend the lead to 65-46, the biggest of the day to that point. There was 6:58 to play in the second half at that juncture.
 
Villanova was never threatened again in running its mark in this event which honors families of victims of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 to 3-0 all-time.
 
"This is for a great cause," stated Neptune. "I'm a New Yorker so 9/11 touched me as it has a lot of people. I'm glad we were able to take part."
 
The Wildcats will now have six days without a game as the academic calendar shifts to final exams. Villanova will return to action for its final Philadelphia Big Five clash on Saturday, Dec. 17, at Saint Joseph's (4 p.m./CBS Sports Network and Villanova Sports Radio Network).