Villanova capitalizes on turnovers, routs Rider

Eric Dixon had 16 points and five assists as host Villanova put away turnover-prone Rider 72-48 on Wednesday in Philadelphia.

The Wildcats (4-4) were working with a narrow lead until the final 4:17 of the first half, when they netted 13 straight points to crack the game open while Rider struggled on offense.

Villanova scored 26 points off 17 Rider turnovers, 12 of which came in the first half alone.

Jhamir Brickus shot 5-of-7 from 3-point range for his 15 points, while Jordan Longino and Tyler Perkins added 10 points apiece. Villanova took 38 of its 58 field-goal attempts from beyond the arc, converting 15.

Flash Burton scored 15 points and Jay Alvarez had 11 points and a team-high five rebounds for Rider (4-3), which wrapped up a seven-game road trip to open the season. The Broncs outshot the Wildcats 43.8 percent to 41.4 percent overall but made 11 fewer triples.

Dixon, coming off a career-high 38-point effort Sunday in a one-point loss to Maryland, made his first of three 3-pointers about eight minutes into the game for a 16-10 advantage.

Burton got his night going with Rider's second unit, knocking down three midrange jumpers in a 4:04 span to pull the Broncs within 23-20.

That's when Villanova took over, with Perkins, Longino and Dixon draining 3s during the half-ending surge to help the Wildcats take a 36-20 edge into the break.

Brickus added a triple 12 seconds into the second half before Rider finally ended its drought with Tariq Ingraham's basket. The Broncs went scoreless in a 5:45 stretch spanning the two halves.

Brickus made another pair of 3-pointers midway through the half as Villanova expanded its lead to 55-30. Rider never got within 24 the rest of the night, with the Wildcats leading by as many as 29 down the stretch.

--Field Level Media