Villanova earns 100-81 win over Howard

The Villanova Wildcats are back in the win column.

The Wildcats defeated the Howard Bison 100-81 on Tuesday night to improve to 2-1 on the season. The victory creates a bounce-back for the Cats, who fell victim to the second-ranked UCLA Bruins last Friday night out in Westwood.

Four Nova players dipped into double figures in the win. Brandon Slater led the way with 23 points on the night and was nearly impeccable shooting the basketball. He made all four of his 3-pointers and all seven of his free throws. His only misses were two 2-point tries, as he finished shooting 6-for-8 from the field on the night. He also added three boards, two assists, one steal, and zero turnovers.

Collin Gillespie joined him with a 20+ point night, as the fifth-year senior scored 21 points and went 5-for-12 from 3. Justin Moore scored 16 points while Jermaine Samuels scored 11 to round things out. Samuels didn’t miss a single shot from the floor or the free throw line, as the Bison defense could not corral him at all. Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels each finished with nine points, falling just shy of double figures.

As we mentioned in the preview, Howard came into the game ranked first in the nation in 3-point percentage. That still holds true after Tuesday night’s affair. The Bison unabashedly took 24 attempts from long range and made exactly 50 percent of them. They outshot the usually hot-shooting Wildcats, as they could only muster up a mark of 46.7 percent.

Four Howard players got into double figures as well. Kyle Foster led with 19 points, while Elijah Hawkins and Tai Bibbs each scored 16. Steve Settle, named to the Preseason All-MEAC Third Team, dropped in 13 points. The aforementioned Hawkins dished out 11 assists while Bibbs had five himself.

Villanova will have to shake off some defensive rust that has built up in the early goings. Their next challenge comes in the form of highly-touted point guard Kennedy Chandler and the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday.