Nova dominates Penn, 87-61
Villanova 87, Penn 61
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) - December 1, 2007
Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points and Corey Fisher added 13 as
Villanova cruised past Penn 87-61 on Saturday night. Antonio Pena
contributed 12 and Dante Cunningham had 10 for the Wildcats (5-1),
who handily defeated the Quakers for the fifth straight time.
Villanova won its first four games and was ranked 19th before
the last-second one-point loss to North Carolina State on Nov. 25
in the championship game of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla.
"Maybe I overdid it (in practice) during the week, but maybe
thats why they came out like this," Villanova coach Jay Wright
said.
Villanova jumped out to a 33-6 lead with 11:13 remaining in the
first half. The lead grew to as many as 31 when Fisher hit a
3-pointer for a 53-22 advantage with 25 seconds left in the half.
Villanova hit 17 of its first 22 shots from the field and wound
up hitting 60 percent (18-of-30) compared to just 26 percent
(6-of-23) for Penn. The Quakers committed 20 first-half turnovers
against Villanova's swarming defensive pressure.
"Everyone tonight who came in did a great job bringing energy
off the bench," Reynolds said.
Penn's Tyler Bernardini hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the
first three minutes of the second half, cutting the Villanova
advantage to 53-31. But the Quakers never threatened after that
point and got no closer than a 20-point deficit for the rest of the
game.
"I think, to some degree, we were intimidated to start the
game," Penn coach Glen Miller said. "You just cant dig a hole
like that."
Villanova also won its 12th consecutive game against Big Five
opponents, which includes games against Saint Joseph's, Temple and
La Salle. The 12 straight Big Five wins tied a record originally
set by Penn from Jan. 19, 1972 to Jan. 18, 1975.
"As I kid, I remember those (Penn) teams," Wright said. "Its
an honor to be mentioned with those teams."
Bernardini scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half for
Penn (2-6) while Justin Reilly added 12 and Harrison Gaines had 10.
Brian Grandieri, Penn's leading scorer at 14.9 points per game, was
held to just six on 1-of-7 shooting.
"We just didnt come ready to play," Gaines said.