Final result: Columbia 90, Villanova 80

Milestone moment:

Villanova's first two points of the night came on a jumper Eric DixonHe saw his first game action of the regular season after serving a one-game NCAA suspension on Monday night. That basket pushed him past the 1,500 point mark.

Dixon scored 10 of Villanova's first 13 points in the first eight minutes of the game. At that point, the Wildcats held a 13-12 lead over Columbia, while the Lions capitalized on a 7-4 lead.

At the end of the night, Dixon had 33 points, one shy of his career high set last November against North Carolina in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

The Lions ended the half with a roar:

A couple Jordan Longino 3-pointers on consecutive possessions gave Villanova a 28-20 lead, but Columbia ended the period with a 19-9 run and took a 39-37 lead into the locker room at halftime.


The Lions made 5 of 6 of their final field goals at halftime and were 15 of 30 in the first 20 minutes. Rubio De La Ros sank a three-pointer just before halftime to give Columbia the lead at halftime.


Meanwhile, the Wildcats shot 11 of 25 from the floor, including 7 of 13 from beyond the 3-point arc.



Continuation of the hot shoot:
The Lions made seven of 12 field goal attempts in the first 7:23 of the second half, and Villanova matched that effort, but trailed 56-53 at that point. Shortly after, the Wildcats scored Wooga poplar hobbled to the sideline with a left leg injury. The Miami transfer had contributed 12 points before taking over as head athletic trainer Dan Erickson.


Poplar returned to the court a short time later, but the Wildcats still faced the challenge of slowing Columbia's offense. Two free throws gave the Lions a 64-57 lead with 7:41 to play in the period.


The margin continued to grow despite Nova's best efforts to contain the run. Columbia's lead was 77-64 with 3:18 left in the second half. A Tyler Perkins Floater cut the deficit to 77-66 with 2:59 left.


A few lines from the stat sheet stood out.


The Lions had a 36-24 advantage in points scored in the game and a 27-9 advantage in fast break points.



Columbia strikes again:
This was the Lions' second straight victory over the Wildcats on campus. In November 2012, Columbia defeated Villanova 75-57 at the original Pavilion.



What they said:
Head coach Kyle Neptune: “We have to give Columbia a lot of credit. They came with a game plan, they moved the ball, they shared the ball and countered everything we tried to do to them defensively. We just couldn't get enough stops.”


“We have to become more solid. Our habits right now are not what they should be. It seems like simple things. Getting the ball into the field. Making initial passes, being strong with the ball against double teams. We have to.” Become much more solid and pay attention to details.


“When you turn the ball over, there is no transition defense. We gave up 90 points. It will be difficult to win games when your opponent scores like that.”



Next:
Villanova is back in action Friday night when it hosts NJIT at Finneran Pavilion (FS1) at 8:30 p.m.