The Wildcats Sweep the Season Series With the Pirates, Malachi Palmer Scores a Career-High
VILLANOVA, PA. 2/4/2026 –
With a 72 – 60 home win the Villanova Wildcats solidify their hold on third place in the Big East Conference. In a team effort Villanova saw four players score in double figures while Seton Hall had but one. The breakout player of game for Nova was Malachi Palmer who scored a career-high 15 points and made three-pointers draining 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. The transfer from Maryland also tied his collegiate-best 6 rebounds in a single game. He is becoming the player coach Kevin Willard is expecting him to be.
“He’s been the reason why I wanted him to come here,” said Willard. “We saw a lot of this start to develop last year. He works hard and is practicing great. Defensively, he’s been playing really well. Everyone looks at his offense.”
Palmer made 5 of 7 from the floor and made both free throws. He was joined by Tyler Perkins who scored a team-high 18 points sinking 9 of 13 field goal attempts. Duke Brennan recorded his 9th double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Acaden Lewis added 11 points and dished out a game-high 6 assists. It was a plus to see Palmer contributing more than just scoring.
“Feels good,” said Palmer. “Making a conscious effort to be supportive of my teammates and doing everything it takes to win. Playing defense, doing all the little things, I know the offense is going to come.”
Key Run of the Game
In the last five minutes of the first half leading 24 – 21 Villanova went on a 16 – 4 run to halftime to lead 40 – 25 at intermission. The run was sparked by Perkins with 7 points in the run. Palmer and Bryce Lindsay made two from distance in that span.
“Anytime you can get a good run going into halftime against a really good defensive team, it’s really important,” Willard said.
What the Numbers Say
Villanova never trailed in the game with the largest lead reaching 20 points.
The three-point line was good to the Wildcats and not so for the Pirates. Villanova was good on 9 of 29 from distance compared to 2 of 17 for The Hall, who missed all 8 of their three-point shots in the first half.
Nova assisted 15 times on 23 field goals. Seton Hall helped 9 times on 26 baskets.
Off the Boards the Wildcats held a 37 – 27 edge, 13 – 8 on the offensive glass.
Adam Clark led the Pirates with 18 points. However, he finished with a minus-eighteen for the game. A.J. Stanton-McCray tied a season-high with 8 rebounds while scoring 8 points.
Up Next
With this win and losses by Seton Hall and Creighton (who fell to Georgetown) Villanova has a two-and-a-half game lead for third place in the conference. Nova is two-games behind St. John’s by 2 games for second place. Villanova goes to Georgetown on Saturday.
Seton Hall faces a trip to Creighton to break the tie for fourth place in the Big East.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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