Dec. 10, 2001

Check out the men's basketball game notes for the Wildcats non-conference match-up against the Stony Brook Seawolves. The men's basketball team will play the second game of a double-header at the Pavilion on Tuesday, Dec. 11. Villanova enters the contest 4-2 overall while Stony Brook stands at 1-7. For a complete version of Tuesday night's game notes click on the .pdf link inside.

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Villanova Wildcats
(4-2 overall, 0-0 Big East)
Vs.
Stony Brook Seawolves
(1-7 overall, 0-0 America East)

Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2001
The Pavilion - 8:05 p.m.
Villanova Radio Network
(WPEN 950 AM, WZZD 990 AM)

The Temple Tale
Following a pair of overtime losses to Philadelphia Big Five rivals La Salle and Pennsylvania, Villanova followers could be forgiven for sensing a bit of deja vu when Lynn Greer tied Saturday night's contest against Temple at 66 with 52 seconds remaining in regulation.

"I wasn't thinking about that so much but I was thinking about overtime," he said.

A couple of key plays by the Wildcats, however, made the extra session unnecessary. The first came from sophomore point guard Derrick Snowden. With the shot clock winding down and his teammates covered, Snowden held his dribble near the top of the key. He then elevated and made a shot over the outstretched arm of Temple center Kevin Lyde with 21 seconds left.

"I was the last option on the play," said Snowden. "I saw that no one else was open and stepped up and took the shot."

"An honest answer," said Jay Wright.

Following a pair of Owl timeouts, the ball was inbounded to Greer, who had 29 points on the night and 47 in a game at Wisconsin earlier in the week. Forwards Andrew Sullivan and Brooks Sales immediately trapped Greer who attempted to dribble around them. But as he did so he lost control of the basketball and it went out of bounds with possession awarded to Villanova.

"That was a great job by Brooks and Andrew," stated Jay Wright. "Those are pretty big guys and for them to be able to stay with a guy like Lynn Greer was an outstanding effort."

Villanova inbounded the ball to Snowden who was quickly fouled by the Owls. That Snowden had not been to the free throw line in a game for more than 10 days and that these were only his third and fourth free throws of the campaign did not seem to matter. He calmly dropped both in.

"I knew what I had to do and concentrated on that," Snowden stated in the aftermath.

Temple got the ball into the hands of Greer whose running attempt at the buzzer was no good. That sealed the win for the 'Cats, their first in the Philadelphia Big Five this season.

"This win can give us confidence," said junior guard Gary Buchanan, who had 15 points on the night.

Ricky Don't Lose That Number
Throughout his first two seasons in a Villanova uniform, Ricky Wright offered tantalizing flashes of brilliance. As a freshman in 1999-00 there was a three game stretch in late February where he averaged 16.7 ppg, including a season high 18 points in a game at Syracuse. In the final Big East regular season game that year it was his two free throws that sealed a win over Providence on Senior Night.

Last year, Wright had his moments too. The best of those was a 26-point, 13 rebound effort at Minnesota in the National Invitation Tournament. Yet there was inconsistency too, some of it attributable to foul woes. Through the early portion of his junior season though, Ricky Wright has demonstrated a maturity to his game. The native of East Chicago, Ind., is second on the Wildcats in scoring at 16.3 ppg and tied for the team rebounding lead with Sales at 8.2 rpg. His field goal percentage of .706 places him atop the Big East leader board in that category.

Against Temple, he connected on 7-of-10 field goal attempts and was 4-of-5 at the line in 36 minutes. He made several big baskets in the second half and three free throws that allowed the Wildcats to extend their lead to 66-59 with 2:53 to go in regulation. Ricky Wright has been on a roll over the course of his last eight games dating back to the final two games of his sophomore season. Since that point he is averaging 18.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per outing. He is also connecting on .743 of his field goal attempts in that time frame.

Board Barons
Villanova outrebounded Temple 36-31 on Saturday night and it continued a trend that has held up since Jay Wright took the helm of this team last spring. Over the course of 13 games - five in August against professional and elite amateur teams in Italy, two exhibitions and six regular season contests - Villanova has been beaten on the glass in total rebounds exactly once - by Dayton on Nov. 24. The Flyers collected 34 caroms to Villanova's 33 that night.

"That's something we really focus on and, for the most part, our guys have done a good job with," said Jay Wright. "We have outrebounded almost every team we have played and obviously that was important against Temple, with guys like Lyde and (Ron) Rollerson."

Villanova averages 37.8 rpg to its opponents 29.0 rpg.

Injury Update
Villanova freshman forward Chris Charles remains sidelined after an episode involving an irregular heartbeat. Prior to the Wildcats game against Grambling State on Nov. 21 Charles was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. Physicians began treating the problem with drugs and a cardioversion was scheduled for Dec. 4. In that procedure physicians shock the heart back into its normal rhythm. However, when Charles arrived for the procedure doctors discovered that his heart had returned to normal rhythm on its own. Charles will dress for Stony Brook but is not expected to play. He could receive clearance to practice any day now.

Meanwhile, sophomore guard Derrick Snowden recovered quickly from the strained groin muscle that kept him out of most of the second half against Pennyslvania on Dec. 5. Snowden played 35 minutes against the Owls.

Bryant Bounces Back
One week after serving a suspension for a minor disciplinary infraction on Dec. 1 against Bucknell, Reggie Bryant enjoyed his best performance of the 2001-02 season against Temple. The product of Baltimore, Md., converted 7-of-12 field goal attempts, including 3-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc for 17 points. Of those points, 12 came in the second half. In addition, Bryant added three assists in 33 minutes. The 17 points matched Bryant's career high, established last season on Dec. 28 at Georgia.

It is apparent that Bryant is quite comfortable at the Palestra. In four career games there, he has averaged 12.8 ppg and played an instrumental role in wins over St. Joseph's (2000-01), La Salle (2000-01) and Temple (2001-02). Bryant is in many ways the X factor for the Wildcats. Villanova is 3-1 in the past two years when Bryant scores in double figures.

Snow Storm
The night did not begin in auspicious fashion against Temple for Derrick Snowden. Before the first media timeout, Snowden was charged with three turnovers. After being taken out briefly, Snowden returned and enjoyed his most complete effort of the young campaign. His 10 points matched his season high and he was 4-of-8 from the field. Entering the contest Snowden had made only 12-of-40 (.300) from the field.

"I didn't lost confidence in my shot," Snowden said. "I knew if I kept working at it, it would get back to where I wanted it."

In addition, Snowden's eight assists were a Villanova individual season high. The Baltimore product leads Villanova in that department with 4.5 apg.

Gary's A Focal Point
When opponents prepare their scouting reports, one of the major features when analyzing Villanova is Gary Buchanan. The junior from St. Louis was a preseason choice for second team All- Big East and has more than lived up to that billing in the early going. He leads the Wildcats in scoring at 20.7 ppg and is also averaging 5.8 rebounds per game. In fact, the 6-3 Buchanan has grabbed 19 rebounds in his past two games.

"Gary has done a great job rebounding for us, especially when we have used him at the three spot," said Jay Wright.

Buchanan scored 15 points against Temple and is shooting better than 50 percent from the field (.513) and beyond the 3-point arc (.526). He also now has 952 career points.

The Matchup:
Villanova vs. Stony Brook
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Wright vs. Stony Brook: 6-0


Notebook: The Wildcats and Seawolves have never met but Jay Wright is no stranger to this Long Island based school ... During his seven year stint at Hofstra, Wright faced the Seawolves six times and won all of them ... Wright first faced Stony Brook in his debut season of 1994-95 and the Pride posted a 79-60 victory ... The Seawolves are coached by Nick Macarchuk ... Macarchuk, interestingly, was one of the candidates for the Villanova head coaching position in 1992 following Rollie Massimino's departure for UNLV that spring ... Macarchuk was coaching at Fordham at that time ... To carry the connection one step further, Stony Brook's only win this season came against Cleveland State - coached, of course, by Massimino ... The Seawolves have faced two Big East teams to date this season ... St. John's downed the Seawolves 72-55 and Rutgers posted a 76-37 win on Nov. 28 ... Stony Brook has played only one home game thus far this season ... Dawud Munir paces the Seawolves in scoring with a 19.4 ppg average.