PHILADELPHIA – Junior guard Zaquavian Smith tallied a game-high 25 points as the Nicholls State University men's basketball team dropped a 113-77 decision to No. 5 Villanova Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

En route to Nicholls' fifth consecutive contest with a 20-point scorer dating back to last season, Smith connected on six treys, including four in the second half. Senior guards Roddy Peters and Tevon Saddler added 17 and 15 points, respectively. The Colonels (1-1) shot 39 percent from the field and recorded nine steals, one more than the Wildcats (2-0).

Mikal Bridges spearheaded Villanova with 23 points, and Donte Divincenzo followed with 20. The Wildcats had six double-figure scorers as they shot 58 percent from the floor, including a 13-for-30 effort from beyond the arc. Villanova posted 28 assists and a school-record 13 blocks in the win.

The two sides traded six points each before a 7-0 Wildcats run capped by a Bridges three gave them a 13-6 advantage. A 4:42 scoring drought for the Colonels later in the opening half increased the gap to 35-11 at the 8-minute mark.

Nicholls concluded the final 4:31 of the opening period strong, matching Villanova with 13 points to go into the half trailing by 24. During that time, Smith knocked down two threes and senior guard Jahvaughn Powell added one.

Smith drained nine of the first 11 points via threes. An 11-point second-half scoring effort on 4-of-4 shooting from Divincenzo allowed the Wildcats to close out the game.

The Colonels host Spring Hill Friday in their home opener. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Stopher Gym.  

Get your season or single game tickets now by calling 985-448-4790 or visiting nichollstickets.com. To stay up to date with Nicholls men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter @Nicholls_MBB.