Aug. 10, 2001
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova Wildcats fought back from a double-digit first half deficit to defeat the Villanova Basketball Alumni squad 90-84 in a men's basketball scrimmage held on Friday night at the Jake Nevin Field House.
Wildcat sophomore guards Reggie Bryant (24 points) and Derrick Snowden (19 points) paced the attack for the 'Cats. Jermaine Medley led the Alumni unit with 20 points while Toronto Raptors guard Alvin Williams added 18.
The Alumni unit included NBA veteran Doug West, all-time Wildcat shot block leader Jason Lawson, European professionals James Bryson and Jonathan Haynes along with longtime NBA player Ed Pinckney.
Early on the game belonged to the former Wildcats. Medley was on fire from the start making his first five shots, including four three point field goals to give the Alums a 32-21 advantage at the end of the first quarter (international rules dictated four 10-minute quarters). But Villanova rallied in the second quarter behind the work of Ricky Wright and Bryant. By halftime the contest was tied at 46.
Villanova took control early in the second half as Snowden drained a pair of triples. The Wildcats moved out to a double-digit lead and then held off a late charge led by Williams and Lawson that brought the Alumni to within 88-84 with 32 seconds left. However, Medley misfired on a 3-point field goal, Brooks Sales corralled the rebound and Bryant drained a pair of free throws to ice the contest.
"I just thought it was a magical night," said VU head coach Jay Wright. "For our young players to have the opportunity to play against a team coached by (former coach) Jack Kraft and players like Alvin Williams, Ed Pinckney and Doug West is tremendous. We are grateful to all of the alums in attendance for taking the time to come out.
"Overall I was pleased with how we played. We played against some powerful bodies inside and I was very happy with our toughness. We out-rebounded them (41-31) and that's a big plus for us. I also liked the fact that we held up well when we got into a tight late-game situation.
"There is a lot of work to do but this is a nice first step."
Among other Wildcats, Ricky Wright finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Andrew Sullivan added nine points and some quality defense late on Williams, Sales chipped in with seven points and nine boards while Gary Buchanan and Andreas Bloch each added six points. Villanova shot .378 from the floor and was 26-46 (.565) from the line.
For the Alumni team Jonathan Haynes contributed 16 points and three assists while Jason Lawson added 10 points and four caroms.
Villanova departs for Italy next Wednesday. Its first game action comes on Aug. 17 in Florence.
