Villanova rode a second-half surge past DePaul.

Tyler Perkins scored 20 points and Duke Brennan had 15 points with 12 rebounds as visiting Villanova used a strong second half to win 76-57 over DePaul on Wednesday night in Chicago.

Devin Askew scored 8 of his 29 points (27.6 percent) in the first half but scored all 14 of his points after halftime for the Wildcats (23-7, 14-5 Big East), who still led 26-24 at halftime. They looked to hit 18 of 28 points (64.3%) from the field in the second half, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range.

They outscored the Blue Demons 50-33 in the second half.

Perkins, Askew and Brennan all made an impact as Villanova used a 7-0 run early in the second half to take a 44-32 lead. A Perkins dunk highlighted a second-half 8-0 surge that gave the Wildcats a 60-41 cushion, with 22 points off the Blue Demons’ 16 turnovers.

Brandon McLean led DePaul (16-14, 8-11) with 16 points.

The Wildcats faced St. Louis on Saturday prior to this contest. They lost two of three, including a 32-point loss at St. John’s. Villanova’s Malachi Palmer added 10 points Wednesday against the Red Storm, starting in place of freshman Matt Hodge, who suffered a season-ending knee injury.

These teams entered the contest as one of the top six teams in the Big East standings, but missed a total of 11 of their first 12 shots of the game. Villanova went 4 of 21 from the field and trailed 18-10 following a 3-pointer by DePaul’s Kruz McClure.

Still 2 of 11 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Wildcats found enough form to score 14 of the next 17 points to take a three-point lead.

Perkins scored Villanova’s final six points and had 11 at the break.

DePaul, which entered the contest having won four of its previous five, shot 38.5% in the first half, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range. The Blue Demons finished 2 of 16 from distance.

Villanova has won eight straight against DePaul, which has won just once in the last 31 games between the teams.

–Field level media