Villanova Wildcats knocked out of semis by UCLA Bruins
The Villanova Wildcats eliminated the UCLA Bruins Wednesday 24 November 2010. Villanova guard Corey Fisher netted 26 points as the Wildcats beat UCLA by a score of 82-70. Sophomore centre Mouphtaou Yarou
dominated on the inside, registering 13 points and a career high 16 rebounds.
Wildcats coach Jay Wright praised the 6ft 10in sophomore’s play after the game. “That was big for us, Mouph getting 16 rebounds,” said Wright. “He really struggled last year, you don’t need to hear all
the drama, but just a brutal year for him last year...We’ve always had a bunch of guards to run in there. It’s nice to have a big guy.”
In addition to Yarou’s exceptional play, the Wildcats’ three-guard offence played a big part in the win. “We both do the same thing” said guard Corey Fisher of the system. “Coach is always on us about
staying on attack—even when we’re tired.”
Fisher also cited team-work as part of their success, especially when it comes to fellow guards Maalik Wayns and Corey Stokes. “If I’m down, Maalik picks me up, and if we’re both down Corey picks us up,”
said Fisher “That’s why we’re a great team.”
With Wednesday’s win, The Wildcats will head to Madison Square Garden where they face the number four ranked Tennessee to fight for the championship. Most recently, the Volunteers bested the Virginia Commonwealth
with a tight 77-72 win.
Standouts for the Bruins were Malcolm Lee and Lazeric Jones, who registered 13 and 12 points respectively. Forward Reeves Nelson also played a strong game as well, netting 10 points to go along with his
13 rebounds.
“They’re a very, very good team,” said UCLA coach Ben Howland of the Wildcats. “I thought we did a good job coming back, fighting back,” referencing his team’s impressive second half, where the Bruins
outscored the Wildcats 41-38, “I think we had it to six in the second half.” It wasn’t enough however. The deficit established by the Wildcats in the first half was just too much for the Bruins to cover.
The Bruins did come close to catching up to the Wildcats in the second half. They were able to get within eight points multiple times in the early stages of the second half. The Wildcats were always there
to answer however, pushing the deficit back into the double digits. UCLA didn’t do themselves any favours on the free throws either.
“We missed four free throws in a row” said Howland. The Bruins were successful on 11 of their first 12 free throws. In the next half however, the team only made two of seven attempts. In the following
two minutes, Villanova took advantage and widened their lead again.
Junior guard Lazeric James was ready to take some of the blame for the team’s loss, saying he couldn't handle three guards.
“I tried, I guess, didn’t do a great job of it. It wasn’t my best effort. They have some really good guards, two of the best guards in the country.We learned some things.”
Tags: