Nov. 19, 2009
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Box Score |
Quotes
WINNING ON THE LAST POSSESSION
Villanova won today's game on a three-pointer by freshman forward Isaiah Armwood with 17 seconds left that accounted for the final points of the contest in a 69-68 victory. The team does not have to go very far back to find the last time it won a game on its last possession. That happened in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championship last season, when now senior guard Scottie Reynolds drove the length of the court for a game-winning layup with less than a second left to send the Wildcats past Pittsburgh and into the Final Four.
FIRST CAREER POINTS ARMWOOD
Freshman forward Isaiah Armwood scored his first career points with his game-winning three-pointer in today's game. Armwood played four minutes against George Mason and finished with three points, one block and one foul. The three-pointer he made was his only shot attempt of the game. In the first three games, Armwood has tallied three points, three rebounds and a block in 18 minutes of action.
DOUBLE DIGIT COMEBACK
Villanova trailed today's game by as many as 13 points in the first half, as George Mason led 21-8 with 9:59 remaining in the opening period. The Wildcats cut the margin to nine points at halftime and then overcame another late deficit on Isaiah Armwood's game-winning three-pointer. Last season, Villanova had three wins in which it trailed by double digits at some point during the game.
FREE THROW FEST
In today's victory, Villanova and George Mason combined for 76 free throw attempts and 54 fouls. The Wildcats made 23-of-39 (.590) free throws, while the Patriots went 27-of-37 (.730) at the foul line. Junior guard Corey Fisher finished with 17 points thanks to going 14-of-18 at the line. He was just 1-of-12 from the floor.
The 39 free throw attempts for Villanova were the most since it took 40 free throws at Syracuse in an 81-71 win on January 19, 2008 at the Carrier Dome. The Wildcats were 27-of-40 (.675) from the line in that game. The 23 made free throws were the most since Villanova hit 26-of-29 from the foul line in the first round of the NCAA Championship against American last season.
The combined 76 free throws attempted by the two teams was the most in a Villanova game since January 15, 2003 when the Wildcats defeated St. John's, 82-73, at Madison Square Garden. There were a combined 80 free throws in that game, including 40 by each team. The Wildcats went 26-of-40 at the line in the game.
REYNOLDS MOVES UP CAREER SCORING LIST
After a game-high 18 points in today's game, senior guard Scottie Reynolds now has 1,660 points in his Villanova career. During the game, he surpassed Paul Arizin and Curtis Sumpter on the school's career scoring list to move into 12th place all-time. Reynolds is 77 points behind Larry Hennessy (1950-53), who is in 11th place with 1,737 points.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR PENA
Junior forward Antonio Pena matched a career-high with 12 rebounds in today's game and registered his second straight double-double with 10 points and the 12 boards. Pena now has three double-doubles in his career, including the back-to-back efforts this week against Penn and George Mason.
BOARD GAMES
Villanova outrebounded George Mason by a 44-31 margin in today's victory. The Wildcats have now posted a rebounding margin of +11 or better in each of their first three outings. In the season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson, Villanova had a +11 margin (46-35) over the Knights. It followed that up with a 45-27 rebounding edge against Penn on Monday night. Through the first three games of the year, the Wildcats have a +14.0 rebounding margin (45-31) over their opposition.
