Nov. 2, 2010
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Sophomore Maalik Wayns scored 23 points and senior Corey Stokes added 20 to help Villanova cruise to a 95-58 victory over the University of the District of Columbia in an exhibition basketball game played on Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
"This was good for us," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "This gave us the opportunity to work against an opponent instead of ourselves and we tried some combinations we might not ordinarily try in a Big East game."
The Wildcats netted 14 of the game's first 20 points and never looked back. The lead swelled to 37-15 on a pair of free throws by sophomore center Mouphtaou Yarou with 4:28 to go in the first half and the margin was 50-22 at intermission.
In the second half, Wright used his bench liberally. None of the nine Wildcats who saw action played less than 17 minutes.
"I thought Corey Fisher gave us great leadership," stated Wright. "He and Corey Stokes draw a lot of attention and that really opens things up for Maalik. It kind of reminds me of the situation we had when Kyle Lowry was here with Randy Foye and Allan Ray. ARay and Randy opened things up for Kyle to be aggressive and it's important for Maalik to be aggressive. We need him to score for us."
Fisher finished the evening with 17 points, six assists and just two turnovers. Antonio Pena added 11 rebounds while Maurice Sutton came off the bench to collect nine caroms to go with eight points and five blocked shots in 18 minutes of activity.
"Mouph and Mo have improved," stated Wright. "They still have some work to do but they give us the chance to play big."
Villanova connected on .567 of its field goal attempts and out-rebounded UDC 58-23. The Firebirds were led in scoring by Tim Ellison (25 points).
The only blemish on the night for Villanova was 21 turnovers.
"That is obviously something we have to do a better job with," stated Wright. "But I do think some of those were a product of those combinations we were putting together in the second half."
Villanova now will focus its attention on its regular season opener, next Friday at the Pavilion against Bucknell (espn3.com/ESPN 950) at 8:00 p.m.
