Bryce Lindsay shot 5-of-6 from 3-point range en route to 18 points as Villanova topped Penn 90-63 in Saturday’s Big 5 Classic championship in Philadelphia.
Duke Brennan chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (7-1), who won the event for the first time in its three-year history. The tournament pits six Philadelphia area schools against each other with Drexel, La Salle, Temple and Saint Joseph’s playing consolation games earlier in the day.
Villanova finished 15-of-31 from 3-point range with Lindsay, Devin Askew (17 points, three 3-pointers) and Matt Hodge (12 points, four 3-pointers) doing the bulk of the damage.
The Quakers (5-4) were led by Matt Zanoni, Cam Thrower and TJ Power with 11 points apiece. Penn shot 11-of-22 from 3-point range but just 4-of-12 from the foul line. Fourteen turnovers didn’t help matters either.
Villanova led 27-19 near the midpoint of the first half before Penn scored eight straight points to draw even. However, the Wildcats dominated the final 5 1/2 minutes of the half, embarking on a 17-2 run to go into halftime with a 15-point advantage.
Malachi Palmer and Askew each drained a 3-pointer early in that surge before Brennan made back-to-back buckets to create a 10-point advantage. Palmer’s basket in the waning seconds of the half sent the Wildcats into the locker room ahead 44-29.
Brennan led all scorers with 12 first-half points. Each team made seven 3-pointers in the first half, although the teams combined for only two free throws (one make) in a free-flowing opening 20 minutes.
Villanova made five 3-pointers in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the second half to create even more separation. Lindsay drained three quick ones from beyond the arc before Tyler Perkins and Hodge took turns draining shots from 3-point land, increasing the Wildcats’ lead to 22.
Acaden Lewis’ three-point play with 15 minutes remaining pushed the advantage to 25 for the first time.
Penn briefly whittled the deficit down to 20, but Askew scored seven points during an 11-2 run that restored order.
Lindsay’s 3-pointer with 6:59 left pushed the lead to 30, and the Wildcats cruised from there.
