Senior guard Reggie Redding returned from a suspension to score 15 points and add nine rebounds in his first game of the season and No. 8 Villanova took the lead early and cruised to a 96-58 victory over Fordham on Saturday.
Corey Fisher, a foul-plagued Scottie Reynolds and Antonio Pena had 17 points apiece as the Wildcats (10-1) rode 53 percent shooting to rebound from last Sunday's loss to Temple.
Freshman Chris Gaston had 12 points to lead Fordham (2-7). Lance Brown added 11 and Alberto Estwick and Brenton Butler had 10 points apiece for the Rams, who had 17 turnovers and were limited to 32 percent shooting from the field.
The big news for Villanova was the return of Redding, who helped the Wildcats reach the Final Four last year. He was 6 of 9 from the field after being suspended for the first 10 games following an incident this summer in which his car hit a pedestrian crosswalk sign near campus.
He was charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He eventually entered Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD), but was suspended for violating university policy. His court record will be expunged if he stays out of trouble.
Redding started against Fordham and he had 11 points in the first half in helping the Wildcats open a 46-37 lead.
Trailing 13-12 early, Reynolds scored five straight points and Redding hit a 3-pointer to spark a 32-13 run that put the Wildcats ahead 44-26.
Fordham got within nine points at the half when Estwich hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
However, the second half was all Villanova. Reynolds, Redding and Fisher all had four points in an early 19-9 run and the Wildcats never looked back.
