Eric Dixon put up a season-high 19 points and six rebounds, TJ Bamba threw down a major dunk and Villanova got past Texas Tech 85-69 in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Justin Moore tallied 18 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Wildcats (4-1), who will clash with No. 14 North Carolina in the semifinals Thursday. The Red Raiders (3-1) will meet Northern Iowa in the consolation bracket.
Bamba and Jordan Longino each finished with nine points and made important contributions for Villanova to pull away late in the game.
Pop Isaacs led Texas Tech with 16 points but shot 4-for-14 from the floor. Joe Toussaint had 15 points and eight assists and Devan Cambridge added 11 points.
Villanova did its best to shut Texas Tech out of the paint, but the Red Raiders responded by making 14 of 36 3-pointers. On the other hand, Villanova scored 26 points in the paint and sank 26 of 32 foul shots.
Texas Tech made five of its first nine shots, including 3-pointers from three different players, to take an early 15-9 lead. Isaacs got in on the action with a triple for a 20-16 Texas Tech advantage at the 9:36 mark.
Dixon answered with a 3-pointer that launched an 18-3 swing for Villanova. Moore drained a triple off Dixon’s steal as Villanova went on to score 11 points off 12 Red Raider turnovers in the half.
Texas Tech managed to get within five before Dixon made another open 3 in the final minute to help Villanova lead 41-33 entering halftime.
The second half saw one sustained Texas Tech charge to cut a 12-point deficit to three. Chance McMillan started it with a 3-pointer, Toussaint made a hesitation layup and Isaacs added a 3-pointer and 1 of 2 foul shots to draw within 56-53 with 10:41 to play.
The Wildcats responded by making five straight shots from the floor. Longino converted a three-point play and Dixon made a layup in the low post, but the highlight came when Bamba dribbled coast to coast and elevated for a rim-rattling dunk.
Tyler Burton and Moore added 3-pointers to get the lead back up to 12 with 6:39 to play.
–Field Level Media
