Villanova Outguns Maryland in BB&T Classic; G.W. Also Wins
by DCist contributor Brett Gellman
After a disappointing performance at the EA Sports Maui Invitational, last night's BB&T Classic at the Verizon Center was Maryland's final opportunity to grab a win over a top flight out-of-conference opponent before the ACC schedule starts up in mid-January. But the quick guards and excellent offense of third-ranked Villanova proved to be too much for Maryland to handle -- the Wildcats won, 95-86.
Before last night's matchup, the Terps' best win was over a rebuilding Indiana team that is expected to finish at the bottom of the Big Ten. While none of Maryland's losses were to bad teams, they had yet to record a solid win in order to improve their NCAA tournament resume. Last night provided just that opportunity, but Maryland (5-3) struggled to deal with the Wildcats' extraordinarily hot shooting.
Villanova (8-0) attempted and made more threes (16 of 39) than twos (14 of 36) in the game -- an outstanding display of long-range shooting, and obviously a very hard thing to counter for any opponent. In the first half alone, Villanova shot 50% from behind the arc. The Wildcats came back down to earth in the second half after Maryland improved its perimeter defense, but 'Nova's 23 offensive rebounds was ultimately the factor that decided the game. Senior guard Scottie Reynolds finished with 25 points for the Wildcats, while Corey Fisher netted 20, 12 of which were from three-point land.
Despite Maryland's loss, some of the team's younger players outshined their older counterparts. Sophomore Sean Mosley scored a career-high 26 points, while big man freshman Jordan Williams collected his first double-double of the season. Meanwhile, Greivis Vasquez's early season woes have continued to haunt him -- the senior guard was unable to find his shot the majority of the game and eventually fouled out with only 12 points.
The most pivotal stretch in the game was when Maryland's senior guard Eric Hayes drained a big three to bring the Terrapins deficit down to three points. But after three straight missed offensive opportunities for the Terps, Villanova was able to widen the lead and never look back.
In the Classic's opener, Navy kept it close with George Washington for most of the game, but a 14-0 second half run saw the Colonials pull away in a 81-69 win. Damian Hollis and Lasan Kromah both scored in double figures for G.W. Navy couldn't parlay a very poor start to the game for the Foggy Bottomers into a win -- having 6' 11" big man Mark Veazey on the bench for 16 minutes in the first half certainly didn't help the Midshipmens' cause.