Dec. 14, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - Pivotal moments can transpire at almost any point in a basketball game. On Sunday night here at Tom Gola Arena on the campus of La Salle University, the key sequence, retrospect, took place in the final 10 minutes of the first half.
A jumper by the Explorers' Jerrell Williams with 10:08 left in the first period had given the home team an 18-16 advantage. The sellout crowd of 4,000 was making ample noise in the hopes of spurring its team to the signature victory it craved.
When, suddenly, a Villanova flurry changed the contest.
It began with an Antonio Pena baseline jumper and was followed by a triple from junior guard Scottie Reynolds. Not long after Corey Stokes sank a pair of 3-point goals before Shane Clark sank consecutive baskets, the latter coming with 5:32 left. Villanova led 31-19 and its lead sank under double digits just once in the game's final 25 minutes.
The Wildcats coasted home to a 70-59 triumph over a feisty La Salle team that had pushed Connecticut to the edge of an upset in the Virgin Islands last month and nearly toppled Florida State after returning to Philadelphia.
The headliners on this night were Reynolds and Stokes who combined to drain 7-of-12 from beyond the 3-point arc. Stokes completed the evening with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting while Reynolds added 13 points and two assists. But Villanova head coach Jay Wright thought much of the energy in that burst was supplied by a pair of native Philadelphians, senior Shane Clark and junior Reggie Redding.
"It was Shane Clark and Reggie Redding," said Wright of the key stretch. "Those two gave us incredible energy off the bench. Both teams were kind of battling there and those two came in really fresh and helped us. Shane Clark was all over the glass and Reggie was driving, making plays and defending. We were able to rest our starters and getting through that first half with Dante (Cunningham) having two fouls was huge for us.
"That was a good learning experience for us that we can do that for a half."
In part the defense prospered because it was extremely active.
: "Shane and Reggie got a lot of deflections," stated Wright of a 7-minute run when the Explorers were held without a field goal. "They helped us get a lot of rebounds and steal that turned into easy baskets.
"Those two, I think, did an even better job defensively than they did offensively."
The Wildcats bench outscored La Salle's 23-9 and outrebounded it 9-3. In addition to Clark (six points, seven rebounds) and Redding (seven points, two rebounds, two assists), VU got a lift from sophomore Corey Fisher who contributed eight points, six assists and committed only one turnover.
Wright was, for the second straight outing, pleased with the effort turned in defensively by sophomore Antonio Pena, who helped keep Mississippi State transfer Vernon Goodridge in check most of the night (he was 2-of-5 from the field for five points).
"Antonio Pena guarded (Ahmad) Nivins the other night and he guarded a lot of big guys last year in the Big East," stated Wright. "I thought Antonio did a really good job on (Goodridge). The first time Goodridge got the ball he hit that turnaround jumper on the baseline. We thought, `oh, man, this is going to be a tough matchup.' But after that Antonio just did a great job on him."
The night began ominously for Villanova when, as Wright alluded to, senior scoring and rebounding leader Dante Cunningham picked up a pair of fouls within the first six minutes of the contest. The foul trouble would ultimately limit him to 24 minutes and nine points, thereby snapping a string of 12 straight contests in double figure scoring for the native of Silver Spring, Md.
"I was concerned," stated Wright, "but it was good for us to be able to handle that."
Another encouraging line on the stat sheet was that the Wildcats generated 20 assists to only eight turnovers. Pena established a new career-high with six assists.
"We watched a lot of tape of them," said Wright of La Salle, which fell to 4-4 with the loss. "They played Connecticut tough, Southern Mississippi tough, Florida State tough in here. This is a tough place to play and I'm very proud of our guys. It wasn't pretty but it's a Big Five game. We'll take it."
Now Villanova will take eight days to concentrate on exams and practice as it looks ahead to a Dec. 22 date at the Pavilion against Navy.
- MIKE SHERIDAN
