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VILLANOVA: An athletic force on the interior ... Brings strong moves to the post and the skill to step away from the basket to make jumpers. 2008-09 Season: Played in 37 games and started 20, seeing 17.6 minutes per game ... Averaged 5.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the season ... Had 38 assists, 19 blocked shots and 10 steals ... Shot .481 (64-133) from the field and .685 (61-89) at the foul line ... Scored in double figures eight times and rebounded in double figures once.
2008-09 Big East Regular Season: Started seven of 18 Big East games ... Averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game with 14 assists, seven blocked shots and five steals ... Shot .437 (31-71) from the field and .634 (26-41) from the foul line.
2008-09 Postseason: Played in six games between the BIG EAST and NCAA Tournaments ... Contributed eight points, 14 rebounds, one assist and one block while making .300 (2-of-6) from the field and .667 (4-of-6) from the foul line.
2008-09 Highlights: Scored in double figures in five of the first eight games of the season ... Contributed a season-high 14 points to go along with eight rebounds against Louisville on January 10 to begin a stretch of three straight games scoring in double figures ... Averaged 13.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during the three-game stretch ... Had a career-high 12 rebounds against Navy on December 22.
2007-08: Emerged as a key player for the Wildcats and earned 19 starts while playing all 35 games ... Ranked fourth on the team in scoring and contributed 6.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game ... Those marks improve to 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in his 19 starts ... Shot .470 from the field (86-183), .333 from three-point range (2-6) and .698 from the foul line (67-96) ... Scored in double figures 12 times and posted one double-double.
Postseason: Had two points and two rebounds against Kansas in the Sweet 16 ... Had four points, five rebounds and two assists in win over Siena ... Played a key role in the first round win over Clemson, going for 12 points and matching a team-high with six rebounds in 26 minutes ... Averaged 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest in two BIG EAST Tournament games, including 12 points and five rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting in quarterfinal loss to Georgetown.
Regular Season: Started 14 of 30 games and averaged 6.9 points and 4.2 rebounds ... Made his first career start against LSU and then started 13 of the final 16 regular season games ... Scored 12 points and had eight rebounds against Penn ... Two games later broke out against Temple and scored 17 points in just 16 minutes ... Made 7-of-8 from the field, one three-pointer, and 2-of-2 free throws in the game ... Matched the season-high scoring total of 17 points in games against DePaul and Notre Dame ... Villanova was 7-3 when he scored in double figures ... Pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds at Pittsburgh.
Big East Regular Season: Played in all 18 games with 13 starts and averaged 8.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game ... Improved his free throw shooting to a 76.5 percent clip (39-51) after entering conference play shooting 60.6 percent at the line (20-33) ... Made 13 consecutive free throws in a stretch of eight games at one point during the season ... Posted his only career double-double at Pittsburgh with 10 points and 10 rebounds ... Helped key a win over DePaul on January 16 with 17 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes ... Made 5-of-10 field goals and 7-of-8 free throws in the contest ... That came in the midst of a seven-game stretch in which Pena averaged 10.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
2006-07: Was unable to attend summer school and then suffered a minor knee injury early in the season so it was decided he would redshirt ... Practiced daily with the team ... Underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in early December and returned to practice by Christmas.
ST. THOMAS MORE: Spent two years at the Connecticut-based prep school that has sent Gary Buchanan and Dwayne Anderson to Villanova ... Averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds per game in 2004-05 ... Played for coach Jere Quinn ... Came to St. Thomas More from Brooklyn's Lincoln High School, where he was a teammate of Sebastian Telfair.
PERSONAL: Selected Villanova from a list that included Cincinnati, Texas, Louisville, and St. John's ... Makes his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. ... Parents are Alvin Pena and Olivia Wright ... Born July 20, 1986 near Coney Island, N.Y. ... Played one season with Dwayne Anderson at St. Thomas More.
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