January 23, 1999

Box Score

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Howard Brown scored 18 points and Villanova came from 10 points down in the second half to beat West Virginia 73-62 Saturday.

John Celestand added 12 points and T.J. Caouette had 11 as Villanova (15-5, 6-4 Big East) won for the fifth straight game.

West Virginia (8-11, 3-7), which made just 38 percent of its field goals, lost for the sixth time in seven games.

West Virginia trailed by one at halftime but scored the first six points of the second half. Elton Scott's baseline jumper capped a 13-2 run to give West Virginia its biggest lead, 38-28, with 15:07 left.

But Villanova erased the deficit with a 14-3 run over the next five minutes. Brown's layup gave the Wildcats the lead for good, 42-41, with 10:40 left.

Brown and Caouette each hit 3-pointers to push the lead to 52-45 with eight minutes to go.

West Virginia's Marcus Goree hit three free throws in a 16-second span to pull the Mountaineers within 57-50 with four minutes left. But West Virginia got no closer.

Brian Lynch hit two free throws and Caouette nailed a 3-pointer over the next minute to push the Villanova lead to 62-50. Villanova clinched it by hitting 8-of-8 free throws in the final 45 seconds.

Villanova made 21 of 23 free throws in the second half and 22 of 25 overall.

Freshman Lionel Armstead led West Virginia with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Scott and Jarett Kearse, playing with a sore thumb which forced him to miss one game, added 14 apiece and Goree finished with 13.