• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Cunningham, Villanova head to Palestra to face Towson

Nov 28, 2008 - 11:20 AM Towson (3-1) at No. 20 Villanova 8:30 p.m. EST

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Dante Cunningham and No. 20 Villanova head to the Palestra - their home away from home - on Friday when it hosts Towson in another Philly Hoop Group Classic contest.

Cunningham scored 19 points and Corey Stokes added 18 as the Wildcats (4-0) cruised to a 71-48 win over Monmouth on Tuesday. Villanova beat an unranked non-conference opponent for the 27th time in its last 28 tries.

Cunningham, a senior, has been its primary source of offense. The Maryland native is averaging a team-best 18.5 points and 6.8 rebounds.

The Wildcats probably wish they didn't have to leave the Pavilion, where they have won 19 straight, but they've also had success here.

Villanova is 10-4 at the home of the University of Pennsylvania since head coach Jay Wright took over in 2001, but this is its first game against a non-Big Five opponent in over 20 years. The last such game came on December 19, 1987 when the Wildcats beat Wake Forest here, 83-70.

The Wildcats face a Towson team that received a boost from the return of Junior Hairston, who scored 13 points in a 61-48 win over the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Monday.

Hairston, who was third on the team in scoring last season (12.0 ppg) sat out the first three games of the season for violating a team rule.

Villanova will face Penn State or Rhode Island in the finale of the Philly Hoop Group Classic on Saturday.