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Hoyas Officially Dominate |
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Written by Teon Abrams
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Friday, 14 March 2008 |
New York – In an epic rematch, the Georgetown Hoyas showed the Villanova Wildcats that their win on February 11, 2008 was not a “lucky” win. The Hoyas shot the ball well from the field from start to finish in tonight's 82-63 victory.
Jonathan Wallace scored 19 of his 20 points in the fist half. He was 5-of- 5 from beyond the arc and gave the Hoyas a much needed spark with center Roy Hibbert getting into foul trouble early on. Despite Hibbert being overwhelmed by the Wildcats defense to the point he did not attempt a first half field goal, the Hoyas had no problems. Wallace's performance was that of a four-year starter.
“Just my emphasis coming out Coach told me make sure I was aggressive. That didn’t necessarily always mean by scoring," Hoyas Jonathan Wallace said. “We just try to be aggressive and get good looks at the basket. And my teammates, we were keeping the offense moving really well. I was just getting open looks and stepping up and making them.”
The Hoyas went 17-of-28 from beyond the arc which tied a Big East Tournament record with most three pointers made in the tournament. West Virginia set that record last year against Providence College. DaJuan Summer made five three pointers along with Jessie Sapp's six and Chris Wright and Austin Freeman with two and one respectively.
Villanova trailed most of the first half but started to make a come back after the Hoyas Patrick Ewing Jr. picked up a technical foul for talking back to a referee. The Hoyas went into halftime with a 40-29 lead. Scottie Reynolds and Antonio Pena had 8 points apiece at the half.
The Wildcats began the second half strong with a 10-0 run which included baskets from Dante Cunningham, Scottie Reynolds and Dwayne Stokes. Hoyas freshman Chris Wright ended that run with a three pointer to take a 43-40 lead. Both teams started trading baskets but the Hoyas put an end to that by continuing to drain jump shots from beyond the arc. Roy Hibbert picked up his fourth personal foul with 16:10 remaining in the game (which sparked the Wildcats fans), however the Hoyas showed why they're the regular season Big East Champions and No. 1 seed.
Patrick Ewing Jr. played a critical role when Hibbert picked up his fourth foul. Ewing Jr. who brought the ball upcourt several times, passed the ball very well which led to open jump shots or easy lay-ups. Coach Thompson III showed no signs of panic when his big man got into foul trouble. "The positive is that we won. That might be the only thing positive coming out of it. Coach John Thompson III said. "We're good enough particularly when everyone else steps up to win, but that can't happen. He has to get the ball, he has to score. Between the foul trouble made him tentative in the way they play, the way they root him out made him tentative. But that's something that can't happen, won't happen again."
The Hoyas took a 65-56 lead with 5:34 remaining and Roy Hibbert picked up his fifth foul in a span of a minute when he returned to the game. The big man fouled out with zero points and went 0-of-2 from the field. DaJuan Summers and Jessie Sapp continued to shoot well from beyond the arc to stop an attempted final comeback by the Wildcats.
The Wildcats star player Scottie Reynold was shutdown going 3-of-9 from the field for 13 points and five turnovers. Dwayne Stokes, Dante Cunningham and Antonio Pena finished with 12 points.
Freshman Chris Wright gave the Hoyas some productive minutes off the bench finishing with six points. Austin Freeman had seven and DaJuan Summers had 19. Jessie Sapp was the key factor in the Hoyas win tonight finishing with a career-high 23 points.
STAT OF THE GAME: Hoyas 25 assists on 28 made field goals.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Patrick Ewing Jr. 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.
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