Devin Royal scored 22 points and Luigi Suigo posted a double-double as Villanova rolled to a 95-66 home victory over Holy Cross on Friday.
Suigo scored 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting while adding 15 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals for Villanova (1-1), which recovered nicely from last weekend’s loss in Rome against Notre Dame.
Jake Fiegen added 15 points on 5-of-6 3-point shooting for the Wildcats.
Tristen Wilson scored 17 points to pace Holy Cross (0-2), which only shot 33.9% from the field and 31.8% from beyond the arc. Chuck Hare chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds for the visitors.
Villanova led 7-6 about four minutes into the game before the hosts uncorked a 17-3 run over the next five-plus minutes.
Suigo scored the first four points of the burst before finding Royal for a dunk. Fiegen and Adam Oumiddoch each made a 3-pointer shortly thereafter, and Darryl Simmons II capped the run with a triple of his own to make it 24-9 with 10:45 left in the half.
Holy Cross missed nine of its first 12 shots and shot just 33.3% (10-of-30) in the first half. The Crusaders did not make consecutive shots from the field until less than six minutes remained in the game.
When Holy Cross got within 26-15, Royal’s three-point play restored Villanova’s momentum.
Suigo made a jumper in the final minute of the half to send the Wildcats into the locker room ahead 44-28. He led the Wildcats with 10 first-half points on 5-of-5 shooting to go with seven rebounds.
Villanova led by as many as 18 early in the second half, but five points from Wilson helped the Crusaders get within 48-33. Royal countered with back-to-back buckets before Fiegen’s 3-pointer sent the lead north of 20.
Fiegen knocked down another 3-pointer on the Wildcats’ next trip to give the hosts a 58-35 cushion. He buried another about 90 seconds later to make it 63-38 with 12:44 to go.
Royal made two free throws with 8:45 remaining to give the Wildcats a 30-point advantage, 75-45. That was part of an 11-0 run that made it 81-45 as the hosts cruised to the finish line.