Box Score VILLANOVA, Pa. – A rugged defensive effort helped lift Furman to a 76-68 overtime victory over Villanova on Saturday at the Finneran Pavilion. The Paladins improved to 5-0 while the Wildcat fell to 2-2, dropping consecutive regular season games for the first time since the end of the 2012-13 season (179 games).
"That was a great game to be a part of," stated Villanova head coach
Jay Wright. "Obviously losing isn't any fun. This was nothing more than we expected. We watched their game against Loyola (a 60-58 win) and this was almost the same game as that. They're outstanding.
"Down the stretch in a one point game, they really exploited our mismatches. We didn't do a great job of executing when we were mismatched defensively. You've just go to give them credit."
The Wildcats connected on 24-of-71 field goal attempts on the day (.338) while the Paladins placed all five starters in double figures. Villanova, meanwhile, was led in scoring by senior
Phil Booth (20 points) and
Collin Gillespie (19 points).
"I thought we had a lot of good looks," noted Wright. "We just didn't make them."
A post basket by Matt Rafferty and a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound by Jordan Lyons (17 points) staked the Paladins to an early 5-0 lead. A pair of free throws by
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree gave the Wildcats their first points before Clay Mounce dropped in a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 8-2.
Freshman
Saddiq Bey and
Cole Swider helped give the Wildcats offense an early boost, with each dropping in a 3-pointer. That allowed Villanova to grab its first lead. It was a 15-14 VU edge after 8:25 of game action in the first period.
After falling behind 20-18, Villanova locked in defensively and got some deep shooting from Gillespie and Booth. That sparked a 13-2 surge that gave the Wildcats a 31-22 lead with 3:51 remaining in the first half. Yet Furman ended the period on a 9-5 burst of its own, however, to narrow the Villanova lead to 36-31 at halftime.
The Paladins used a 7-0 spurt at the start of the second half to re-take the lead. A Jordan Lyons drive and score put Furman back in front with 16:35 to play in the second half.
The game became a battle defined by defense. Villanova could not find an offensive groove in the second half, connecting on 4-of-17 attempts from the field in the first 11:13 of the period. The Wildcats and Paladins were tied at 46 after Furman forced VU into a shot clock violation.
There was 8:47 to play in regulation.
A Lyons basket on a drive gave Furman the lead at 48-46 before a Booth steal and score deadlocked matters at 48. Booth sank a 3-pointer from the corner but the Paladins scored the next seven points, which the Wildcats were unable to counter. Villanova fell behind 55-51 before two Gillespie free throws at 5:25 narrowed the margin to 55-53.
Alex Hunter's 3-pointer gave the Paladins a 58-53 lead. But the Wildcats got a huge corner 3-pointer from
Joe Cremo and followed that with a short jumper by Cosby-Roundtree to tie the game at 58 as the game dipped near the two minute mark. A Gillespie basket gave VU back the lead at 60-58 before Furman scored to tie it at 60.
With 2.6 seconds left, Cremo was whistled for a foul that sent Rafferty to the line for a 1-and-1. But Rafferty missed the free throw and Cremo collected the carom. After 2.3 seconds and a misfired pass, the game headed to overtime.
Furman, however, outscored Villanova 9-3 over the first 4:08 to grab control of the contest. Booth's 3-pointer were the only Wildcats points in that stretch. The final count was 76-68.
The Wildcats won't host another game until Dec. 5, when Temple comes to the Finneran Pavilion. Next up on the slate is a trip to Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for three games across four days at the Advocare Invitational. Game One for the 'Cats comes on Thanksgiving Day when Villanova meets Canisius at 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2 and 610 ESPN Radio).
