VILLANOVA, Pa. - James Bell couldn’t believe it.
“You’re lying,” he said to JayVaughn Pinkston following the game, grabbing at the box score that Pinkston held in his hand.
Was he having trouble wrapping his head around his career-high 24 points? Not exactly.
“We were talking about rebounds,” Bell said. “I dropped one at the end of the game and I would’ve had 10.”
While Bell didn’t finish with a double-double Friday, he and his Wildcats ended up with a win in their season-opener, taking down Lafayette, 75-59 (see Instant Replay).
Bell sprinted out to begin the game, scoring Villanova’s first 13 points. He helped the Wildcats (1-0) jump out to a 17-11 lead early, providing the play of the game when Darrun Hillard tossed up an alley-oop to Bell that he proceeded to catch and throw down with one hand.
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Lafayette (0-1) forced Villanova to stay out of the paint in the first half, leading to 18 shots from downtown.
“The three-quarter court pressure made a big difference though, because we couldn’t get it up quick,” head coach Jay Wright said. “And so we didn’t have as much time to attack.”
Because of Lafayette’s defense, the balls just wouldn’t fall. The Wildcats shot only 16.7 percent from three in the first half. They didn’t shoot well from the field in the game, making just 38.9 percent of their shots.
In the second half, Villanova came out determined to get into the paint, a movement led by Pinkston, who finished with 22 points.
“Coach just told me to keep playing defense and rebounding,” Pinkston said. “So I stuck with it and I was in the right spot at the right time.”
Playing defense and rebounding weren’t the only things Wright told him.
“I told you to post up in the second half, too,” Wright said following Pinkston’s comment.
After a moment, Pinkston remembered.
“Right,” Pinkston said. “You did tell me that.”
Pinkston got to the line, forcing Lafayette into foul trouble in the second half and allowing the Wildcats to erase the six-point gap the Leopards opened up early after halftime. Ten of his 22 points came from the foul line.
Once Villanova put the Leopards on their toes, the floor opened up. With the game tied at 47, Bell stepped into a three from the top of the key, jumpstarting a run in which the Wildcats scored 11 of the next 15 points to all but shore up the victory.
Hilliard sank a three near the back end of that run, and overall, played a strong game. He finished with 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
It was the assist total that made Wright happy.
“That was one of his best floor games,” Wright said. “He’s had some great games where he’s scored, but he was only 1 of 7 from three, though the three he sank was huge. He had some big time plays. He did a lot. I was really proud of him tonight.”
While Hilliard performed well, Ryan Arcidiacono, who is still nursing a rib injury, didn’t score until 1:49 remained in the contest, when he finished a tough drive despite getting fouled. His three points were tied for his lowest as a Wildcat.
On defense, Villanova had trouble dealing with Lafayette’s ability to penetrate and find the open man on the perimeter. The Leopards shot 39.2 from the field, including 11 of 24 from three.
But ultimately, Villanova’s physicality won out.
“I think we just had bigger athletes,” Wright said. “And it does wear you down.”