National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Villanova 77, Lehigh 66
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, November 14, 2014
Where: PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Officials: # Brian O'Connell, # Gary Prager, # Robert Riley
Attendance: 8751

No. 12 Villanova 77, Lehigh 66: Dylan Ennis scored a career-high 19 points as the Wildcats pulled away in the season opener for both teams in Allentown, Pa.

Ryan Arcidiacono contributed 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals while Kris Jenkins provided a spark with three 3-pointers off the bench for Villanova (1-0). Ennis' big night helped make up for poor shooting from backcourt mates Darrun Hilliard and Arcidiacono, who combined for 26 points but shot only 8-of-32, including 2-of-16 from behind the arc.

Austin Price led the Mountain Hawks (0-1) with 24 points, including four 3-pointers. Tim Kempton, the reigning Rookie of the Year in the Patriot League, contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds but also had five of his team's 23 turnovers.

Villanova did not take its first lead until Josh Hart's basket with just under nine minutes to play in the first half. Ennis added six straight points in the waning minutes of the session as the Wildcats took a 32-30 advantage into the break.

The Mountain Hawks regained the lead early in the second half and extended their advantage to 46-40 on Miles Simelton's 3-pointer with about 15 minutes to go. However, Jenkins hit a 3 to get the Wildcats going and they took the lead for good on Daniel Ochefu's jumper with just under 11 minutes left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The game was the first college basketball contest in the brand new PPL Center. ... Villanova senior F JayVaughn Pinkston, the team's top returning scorer, contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. ... Hart pitched in six points, seven rebounds and three steals off the bench, while Ochefu led the Wildcats with nine boards.
Top Game Performances
 
Villanova   Lehigh
Dylan Ennis 19 Scoring Austin Price 24
Ryan Arcidiacono 5 Assists Kahron Ross 7
Daniel Ochefu 9 Rebounds Tim Kempton 10
Ryan Arcidiacono 7 Free Throws Made Tim Kempton 3
Darrun Hilliard 4 Steals Austin Price 3
JayVaughn Pinkston 2 Blocks Jesse Chuku 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Villanova 77 38.0 8-33 15-24 16 37 3 13 9
Lehigh 66 54.9 6-16 4-10 15 31 2 6 23