Villanova Univeristy Athletics

Overview
 
No. 9 Virginia placed five players in double figures Thursday night to down Villanova 93-71 in an exhibition game at Finneran Pavilion. A 19-7 advantage in points off of turnovers and an offensive attack that drained 15 3-point field goals helped carry the Cavaliers.
 
The Wildcats were led in scoring by Devin Royal with 21 points and seven rebounds and Tyler Perkins with 20 points. Freshman center Luigi Suigo chipped in with 12 points.
 
Villanova concludes the exhibition portion of its schedule at 2-1. It now turns its attention to the regular season opener on Nov. 1 at the Eternal City Tip-Off in Rome against Notre Dame (9:30 a.m./Fox Sports and the Villanova Sports Radio Network).
 
For Starters
 
The Wildcats returned to the five-man starting lineup used in a 77-75 exhibition victory at Rutgers on Oct. 11. Guards Elijah Crawford and Adam Oumiddoch opened the contest alongside Tyler Perkins, Devin Royal and Luigi Suigo.
 
Oregon transfer Kwame Evans Jr. was not in uniform again (left leg injury). His status remains day-to-day.
 
Fast and Furious
 
The two teams went at one another at a fast pace. Virginia grabbed an early 8-1 lead on the strength of full court pressure and a pair of 3-pointers.
 
However, a Royal drive and score was followed by a Perkins 3-pointer and Villanova was within 8-6 at the first official timeout of the evening. After the pause, Jake Fiegen sank a corner triple and Royal added a transition bucket with a free throw to make it 12-8 for the 'Cats.
 
But the 14-10 Villanova lead was washed away by a 16-0 spurt from the Cavaliers that took only three minutes. Virginia held a 26-14 edge with 10:41 on the first half clock.
 
'Cats Clawed
 
The Wildcats kept digging into climbing out of the hole with Perkins, Darryl Simmons II, and Jake Fiegen taking turns supplying the firepower. Nova shaved its deficit to 42-37 near the end of the period, but the Cavaliers closed the half with a 10-2 burst to take a 51-39 lead into the break.
 
Perkins supplied 15 points and Royal added 11.
 
Virginia generated 39 first half field goal attempts to 24 for the Wildcats. Part of that margin was owed to a 20-15 advantage on the glass resulting in a 12-6 edge in second chance points. The consistent man-to-man full court pressure created eight VU turnovers.
 
Second Act
 
Virginia stretched its margin to 68-54 midway through the second half as the Cavaliers' offensive execution continued to vex the Wildcats. The UVA defense created issues too, limiting Nova to 6-of-15 of its initial field goal attempts in the half (.400).
 
The Cavaliers expanded the lead, relying on a deep roster that returns much of the group that helped it succeed a year ago. Virginia enjoyed a 33-16 advantage in bench scoring as UVA finished the night connecting on .500 percent of its field goal attempts.
 
Jake Fiegen added eight points and four rebounds in 31:43 for the Wildcats.