Tyler Perkins scored 20 points, while Duke Brennan recorded 15 with 12 rebounds, as visiting Villanova used a strong second half to win 76-57 over DePaul on Wednesday night at Chicago.
Devin Askew scored all of his 14 points after halftime for the Wildcats (23-7, 14-5 Big East), who shot 8 of 29 (27.6%) in the first half but still led 26-24 at the break. They found their form in the second half to go a sizzling 18 of 28 (64.3%) from the field, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
They outscored the Blue Demons 50-33 in the second half.
Perkins, Askew and Brennan all had an impact as Villanova used a pair of 7-0 runs early in the second half to lead 44-32. A Perkins dunk highlighted a late 8-0 surge that made it a 60-41 cushion for the Wildcats, who scored 22 points off 16 turnovers by the Blue Demons.
Brandon Maclin led DePaul (16-14, 8-11) with 16 points.
The Wildcats had dropped two of three prior to this contest, including a 32-point loss at St. John’s on Saturday. Villanova’s Malachi Palmer added 10 points on Wednesday while starting in place of freshman Matt Hodge, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Red Storm.
Though these teams entered the contest among the top six in the Big East standings, they missed a combined 11 of the game’s first 12 shots. Villanova opened 4 of 21 from the field and trailed 18-10 following a 3-pointer from DePaul’s Kruz McClure.
The Wildcats, who still went 2 of 11 from beyond the arc in the opening half, found enough of their form to score 14 of the next 17 points to lead by three points.
Perkins scored Villanova’s final six points and had 11 at the break.
DePaul, which entered the contest a winner in four of the previous five, shot just 38.5% in the first half, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range. The Blue Demons ended the contest 2 of 16 from distance.
Villanova has won eight in a row versus DePaul, which has just one victory in the last 31 matchups between the teams.
