Luigi Suigo collected 19 points and 12 rebounds to guide Villanova to an 80-59 home victory against La Salle on Tuesday.
Suigo shot 8 of 12 from the field while adding five assists and two blocks for the Wildcats (2-1). Devin Royal also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards, while Jake Fiegen and Tyler Perkins pitched in with 10 points apiece.
La Salle (1-2) was led by RJ Smith with 13 points and Noah Collier, who chipped in with 11. The Explorers struggled with their shooting from the field (33.3%), the 3-point line (6 of 25) and the foul line (9 of 15).
The Wildcats also struggled from the arc (7 of 22) and the foul line (11 of 18), but they shot 52.5% from the floor, including 70.8% in the second half.
Villanova led 38-36 early in the second half when Suigo threw down a dunk and then found Royal for a layup. Shortly thereafter, Perkins knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 45-38.
Kwame Evans Jr.’s bucket with 12:17 remaining gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead of the contest. Elijah Crawford drained a 3-pointer on the next trip to make it 57-45.
The Explorers got within 64-55 with just over seven minutes to go, but the Wildcats closed the game on a 16-4 run. Perkins and Fiegen hit 3-pointers in the middle of that burst before Suigo provided two buckets down the stretch to help seal the victory. His 19 points marked a season best for the 7-foot-3 Italian import.
In a slow-starting game, neither team scored in the first 2 1/2 minutes and both teams missed nine of their first 11 shots.
Suigo scored four points during an 8-3 run that opened a 22-13 advantage midway through the first half. La Salle got back within 28-26 with less than four minutes left in the session, but Royal and Nico Onyekwere combined for eight points down the stretch as Villanova went into the locker room with a 36-31 advantage.
Royal and Smith led their respective teams with nine points in the first half.