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First half threes pace 'Nova in win over Xavier, 88-75

01/14/2015, 9:00pm EST
By Tom Reifsnyder
Ryan Arcidiacono

Ryan Arcidiacono (above) and the Wildcats hit a season-high 15 3-pointers in a win over Xavier. (Photo: Josh Verlin)

Tom Reifsnyder (@tom_reifsnyder)

VILLANOVA, Pa.– The No. 5 Villanova Wildcats had little trouble handling a rugged Xavier team, seemingly out-toughing and out-shooting the Musketeers as they coasted to a 88-75 Big East victory on Wednesday night at The Pavilion.

Despite the emergence of Villanova’s inside game this season, highlighted by junior Daniel Ochefu and senior JayVaughn Pinkston, the Wildcats instead resorted to shooting from the outside for the vast majority of the night.

But it’s hard to blame a team for shooting too many threes when they’re moving the ball like it’s a hot potato and making nearly half of their attempts (15-of-34).

‘Nova came across a bit of trouble with under 10 minutes to play, but junior point guard Ryan Arcidiacono would knock down three of his four 3-pointers in the second half to give the Wildcats the cushion they needed; he would finish with a game-high 18 points on the night.

“That team is not gonna quit,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said of Xavier. “They’re a good team, well coached, they’re tough and they’re not gonna go away.

“So we gotta do a little bit better finishing, but a good overall effort.”

Darrun Hilliard "and-1" layup and a Josh Hart triple with under five minutes to go would essentially seal it for the Wildcats as they extended their lead to 18 points, 80-62.

Villanova came out firing from deep early, knocking down nine of its first 13 three-point attempts. Junior guard Dylan Ennis and Hart led the first half charge from behind the arc, combining for five long balls as the Wildcats established a convincing 45-27 lead at the halftime buzzer.

Scarcely was the ball dribbled more than twice by a Villanova player before shooting as the team recorded 14 of their 24 assists in the first half alone.

“They’re freaking good,” Xavier head coach Chris Mack said of the Wildcats. “Villanova’s range, it’s not tip toes on the three-point line; these guys can shoot that ball from the NBA line.”

After starting 5-of-5 from the field, Hart misfired on two tough layup attempts underneath with about three minutes to go until halftime. The sophomore led Villanova in scoring at the half with 12 points and would finish with 15 and a team-high seven rebounds.

“He [Hart] is one of the best offensive rebounders I’ve ever coached,” Wright said. “And that’s something that comes from the heart.

“We teach rebounding, but to do it like that, that comes from your heart, your desire and he brought that.”

Ennis and Hilliard weren’t far behind Hart in scoring, chipping in nine and seven points respectively at the half; Ennis would finish with 17 points while Hilliard added 10 by game’s end.

Ochefu put up a bagel in the first half scoring column but played some solid one-on-one defense on Xavier’s behemoth Matt Stainbrook.

The Musketeers’ 6-foot-10, 270-pound center scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds in the first half, but most of his buckets came on wide-open layups; Stainbrook entered tonight’s game as Xavier’s second-leading scorer at 12.4 points per game.

Just under a minute into the second half, Ochefu would get himself on the board with a baby hook that provoked a man-sized flop from Stainbrook; Ochefu would finish with six points and six boards.

After a relatively strong first half, Stainbrook looked a bit out of sorts in the second period, finishing with 17 points and five rebounds.

One of the biggest surprises in what was a largely uneventful game may have been the performance of Xavier’s 6-5 freshman guard J.P. Macura, who averages just under six points per game on the season.

Macura scored 14 points, knocking down four 3-pointers to notch just his fourth double-figure output of the season. Sophomore forward Jalen Reynolds matched Macura’s mark with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting while sophomore guard Myles Davis added 12.

Xavier put up a respectable fight in the second half, outscoring Villanova 48-43, but its efforts were thwarted by a noticeably more aggressive Arcidiacono who seemed intent on winning the game comfortably.

Tonight’s win marks the third in a row for the No. 5 Wildcats (16-1, 4-1) since losing to No. 21 Seton Hall in Newark, N.J. almost two weeks ago.

For the Musketeers (11-6, 2-3), it’s their second loss in a row since taking down those same Pirates that handled ‘Nova.


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