Villanova 94, USC 79: Nova shoots way into next round

By MIKE ANGELINA

Philahoops Staff

@MikeAngelina

–

Jay Wright made an effort to improve Villanova’s shooting and it worked immediately. The Wildcats rode a hot-shooting first half en route to an easy 94-79 victory over USC in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Thursday afternoon.

The Wildcats’ 94 points set an all-time tournament record for points by a team in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Five Wildcats reached double figures, led once again by James Bell with 17 points.

Villanova made eight three’s in the first half and seemed to do so in bunches. There were three stretches in the first half in which they made a pair of three-pointers within 30 seconds of each other, as the Wildcats were in a groove.

The Trojans were led by Pe’Shon Howard with 23 points and received double digits from two guys off the bench, D. J. Haley and Roschon Prince. But the game was not in much doubt beyond the opening minutes.

Among the many bright spots in the victory for Villanova was the play of both Dylan Ennis and Ryan Arcidiacono—each were the stars of the first half, something very encouraging as each entered the game with questions surrounding them.

For Ennis, he was making his team debut and playing in his first collegiate game since March 20, 2012. The sophomore guard broke a bone in his hand in training camp, after sitting out per transfer rules last season. There were some questions going into the game on whether he would play, as he had his cast removed less than a week ago and only got two full practices under his belt. Wright and Ennis held off making a decision on his status until Wednesday night.

Apparently, more than 20 months was enough time away from the court for him as he was immediately electric. He scored 12 points off the bench in the first half, and showed off his consistent ability to hit threes outside, collecting three in the first 20 minutes.

Arcidiacono was not as seriously hurt as Ennis, but bruised his ribs in practice right before the season, and since then has looked lousy. Thursday, he put all questions to rest with three from beyond the arc himself, and matched his season high with 14 points. He looked much smoother moving with the ball, off the ball and creating his own shots than had for most of the season.

Darrun Hilliard played another solid game and contributed 16 points. Overall, Villanova shot 48.4% from the field to key the victory.

The Wildcats will next play on Friday at 9:30 p.m. as they await the winner of No. 2 Kansas and Wake Forrest for a semi-finals match up. Stay tuned to Philahoops for updates as Villanova continues to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

–Mike Angelina covers Villanova for Philahoops. Share your thoughts with Mike at [email protected], @MikeAngelina on Twitter and/or in the comments section below.