VILLANOVA, Pa. — The final score shows Rider got blown out by Villanova, 72-48, on Wednesday night at the Finneran Pavilion, but it’s the last four-and-a-half-minutes of the first half that were the most disappointing. A 3-point game quickly escalated into a 16-point halftime deficit in that span as the Broncs turned the ball over with regularity and the Wildcats used them to fuel a 13-0 run. When Jhamir Brickus swished one of Villanova’s 15 3-pointers on the opening possession of the second half to push the lead to 19 the game was all but over. “Our effort was not good tonight. Start there,” Rider coach Kevin Baggett said. “We just didn’t do anything right to be honest with you. It starts with me and everybody is accountable for this loss.” The Broncs (4-3) were playing the final leg of a seven game season-opening road trip that has taken them to four states and three time zones. All three of the setbacks are against high major opponents — UCLA, Iowa and Villanova — but with the average margin of defeat at 28 points the inability to compete at this level is disappointing. “I know we can compete against the mid-level guys,” Baggett said. “We got to be able to compete in these games when we play them. We have to execute, we got to take care of the ball, and, then, tonight those guys made every shot and they hadn’t been doing that so give them credit. When you allow so many guys to be open, they are going to make shots. We just need to do a better job of not giving so many open looks.” It would also help if the Broncs could make some. Baggett said they would have to make at least 10 3s to have a chance on Wednesday night, but that never materialized. Rider was 4-of-17 from beyond the arc — not helping a 3-point shooting percentage that began the night at 29.1% — and were outscored 45-12 from the 3-point line. Add in 17 turnovers that led directly to 26 Villanova points and that’ not a recipe for success against anybody let alone a Big East club. “We just had a conversation in the locker room about everybody has to step up and be better,” Baggett said. “We’ll flush this and be better for it, but we weren’t very good tonight. This was the worst of our three high-major games we didn’t perform in.” Eric Dixon, who is among the nation’s leading scorers at 26.1 points per game, paced Villanova (4-4) with 16. Brickus netted 15 and Jordan Longino and Tyler Perkins had 10 each. Rider’s Flash Burton dribbles the ball against Villanova during an NCAA men’s basketball game on Wednesday night at Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, Pa. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) A bright Flash Freshman point guard Flash Burton scored a team-high 15 points to go with four rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes off the bench. “He was the one guy who really stood out to me that competed tonight,” Baggett said. “But you are not going to win games with just one guy playing well and everybody else not. I need him to get other guys involved. We got to get T.J. Weeks, Tariq Ingraham, Jay Alvarez involved and get them scoring. Then I want my point guards to be able to take whatever else is out there for them.” Burton was 7-for-12 from the field and got most of the made field goals by getting to his pull-up mid-range jumper. “I was looking to be aggressive,” Burton said. “I was trying to find some of my teammates, but they were denying them so I had to stop and pop.” The Philadelphia native played his high school ball at Cardinal O’Hara in Springfield, Pa., about eight miles from the Villanova campus. “It means a lot because I was here my junior year and watched them against Drexel,” Burton said. “It means a lot to play on the floor. It was cool.” Burton started the second half in place of Ruben Rodriguez, which begged the question whether Baggett will consider starting him on Saturday against Delaware. “I’m not sure yet,” Baggett said. “We’ll see.” Rider’s T.J. Weeks Jr., center, tries to move in between Villanova’s Jordan Longino, left, and Jhamir Brickus, right, during an NCAA men’s basketball game on Wednesday night at Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, Pa. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo) Big Picture Rider finally plays a home game on Saturday when it hosts Delaware inside Alumni Gymnasium. It went 4-0 in its ‘peer games’ during this road trip with victories over San Diego, Coppin State, Navy and Bucknell. “It’s a kiss and a curse,” Baggett said. “We’ve been able to win on the road. Hopefully, we can get home and play for us. I thought we were playing for everybody else today and not just for us and the guys in the uniform. We got to get back to playing together and sharing the ball and playing better defense.” “These guys want to win. I see them responding. We’re not going to harp on this game. We’ll get locked in for Delaware and give ourselves a chance to win on Saturday.” What lessons were learned from this trip.” “By the time March comes,” Burton said, “we’ll be ready.”