Monday, February 21, 2011
Posted: 9:15 p.m.Updated: 10:55 p.m.
By Kevin Kurz
CSNPhilly.com
BOX SCORE
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim knew he had to change his game plan if he wanted to avenge his teams loss to Villanova in January.
After watching the Wildcats scorch the Orange from the outside at Carrier Dome last month, the Orange pressured Villanovas perimeter game on Monday night, and the result was a 69-64 win at the Wells Fargo Center.
The 15th-ranked Wildcats (21-7, 9-6 Big East) finished the night just 5 for 26 from long range, and could not get into any sort of rhythm on offense in losing to the 17th-ranked Orange (23-6, 10-6)
In Syracuse we just gave them too many open threes, said Boehiem of Villanova's 83-72 win on Jan. 22, one in which the Wildcats finished 11 for 24 from three. I thought we did a much better job here. Well take a little credit in pushing up on them and making them drive.
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They did a good job of really contesting on threes and taking away on threes, said Villanova coach Jay Wright. I thought we got the ball inside and just werent effective. They did a really good job of extending on our perimeter people.
Trailing by two at the break, the Wildcats fell behind by as many as nine midway through the second half but fought back to within one on several occasions. The Wildcats trailed 67-64 with time winding down and had a chance to tie it, but James Bells errant pass gave Syracuse the ball. A foul and subsequent pair of free throws by Rick Jackson with five seconds left sealed Villanovaa fate.
Philadelphia native Scoop Jardine led the Orange with 20 points and hit a huge three-pointer with 4:44 left in regulation to hold off a charge from the Wildcats and give the Orange a five-point lead.
Jackson, also from the area, and Jardine were the leaders all night for the Orange.
Those Philly boys come home and its like a home game for them, said Wright. They certainly played that way. They hit big, timely shots, and we didnt.
Neither team ever had a double-digit lead in the game, but Syracuse led essentially from wire-to-wire because of the Wildcats poor start, which was about as ugly as it gets.
The Wildcats made just one of their first 17 from the field, and Antonio Pena ended the more than eight-minute, 0-for-12 drought midway through the first half with a layup.
Corey Fisher, the Wildcats leading scorer, finished with just eight points on 3-for-16 shooting from the field. It was not the kind of night he was looking for following a career-high 34-point effort against DePaul on Saturday.
He had some good looks, but they did a good job on him, said Wright. Were going to ride him, so if hes going to have nights like that, were going to go down.
With Fisher struggling, Corey Stokes was the Wildcats best player on the floor and led all scorers with 24 points. Stokes, who missed the last three games with turf toe, wasnt even sure if he would be playing as recently as Sunday.
He fought through the pain, though, and his performance was a good sign for the Wildcats, who will need his outside shooting and leadership.
Im still going to continue to get treatment, Im just going to try and not think about it, said Stokes of his injury. If it hurts, Ill just play through it. Im just going to continue being one of the leaders on this team.
While Stokes return was a positive, Wright was forced to limit the minutes of guard Maalik Wayns, who was suffering from back spasms. Wayns took one hard foul in particular late in the first on a driving layup, that likely contributed to his pain.
The Wildcats were also without forward Maurice Sutton, who was forced to watch from the bench as a disciplinary measure for missing a team-imposed curfew.
Villanova has three regular season games remaining: they face St. Johns at home on Saturday before traveling to Notre Dame and Pitt before the conference tournament begins.
Thats still enough time for the Wildcats to improve, according to Wright.
Were not as good as people would like us to be, but were not far off, he said.
The loss prevented Wright from recording his 100th career win in the Big East. In his 10th season with Villanova, Wright is 99-66 all-time in conference play.
E-mail Kevin Kurz at kkurz@comcastsportsnet.com