After a comfortable win over Colorado to open the College Basketball Crown, things were much tighter for Villanova Thursday night against USC. But the ‘Cats did enough to extend their season for another game, emerging with a hard-fought 60-59 win.
Inconsistency was the name of the game for Villanova in the first half. The Wildcats started just 2-9 from the field but then hit six in a row to build an 18-13 lead. They then suffered through one of the droughts that we’re all too familiar this season, missing seven straight shots (and 10 of 11) while failing to score for 5:44. All told, ‘Nova scored just nine points over the final 10:42, all by Wooga Poplar.
Fortunately for Villanova, USC wasn’t able to take full advantage of the dry spell, scoring just four points itself over the span to take a two-point lead. The Trojans did manage to score the final four points of the period, taking a four-point lead into the break.
The Wildcats shot a dismal 33 percent in the first half while allowing USC to connect on 52 percent. However, the Trojans were just 2-12 from three and 1-2 from the line, allowing Villanova to stay close despite the offensive struggles. In fact, the Wildcats led for 8:50 to USC’s 4:59.
USC carried that momentum into the second half, outscoring ‘Nova 10-2 to start the period and extending the lead to 12. But the ‘Cats responded in a big way, ripping off a 16-2 run to erase the deficit and retake a two-point lead with 8:32 remaining as USC took a turn struggling to put the ball in the basket, missing 10 of 11 shots.
Neither team would lead by more than a possession for the remainder of the game, producing a tense, entertaining ending.
The teams traded baskets for a while, with the score ranging from a tied game to Villanova leads of up to three. USC was finally able to break through with 2:26 remaining, taking a one-point lead. Eric Dixon answered with a three to put ‘Nova back up two with 2:07 to play, but USC quickly tied the game at the 1:53 mark.
The final 1:53 produced just a single point, a Dixon free throw, but plenty of drama. Dixon, who was spectacular in the second half, missed two free throws down the stretch, including the front end of a one-and-one, that kept the door open for USC. The Trojans, however, missed two threes and a tough layup. Dixon’s free throw with 18 seconds to go proved to be the deciding point as the ‘Cats escaped with a one-point win.
Villanova flipped the switch a bit in the second half, holding USC to 34.4 percent shooting while the ‘Cats connected on 42.9 percent. More importantly, ‘Nova hit 54.5 percent from three in the period. For the game, the Wildcats were +12 from beyond the arc.
“In the second half we continued to grind and turned it up on defense,” interim head coach Mike Nardi said.
Dixon finished with 28 points, 24 of which came in the second half. He added four rebounds, including a huge one of USC’s missed layup with two seconds remaining.
“We had a little talk at the end of the first half and I just said to him ‘look E, you’re hesitating a little bit too much, you got some open looks, you gotta just shoot em up, sleep in the streets,” Nardi said. “Take your shots. He’s trying to get people involved and make the right play, that’s just who he is. Once he gets it going, you try to move him around, put him in different spots. His teammates know where he likes the ball, and you just let him go to work and he made great decisions tonight.”
Interestingly, Nardi went out of his way to add more on Dixon, circling back to his star unprompted after answering another question.
“I just want to say one thing defensively about Eric tonight,” Nardi said. “End of the game, switching, in his stance, getting stops, he got that last rebound which was huge for our team. As the leader here, we always talk to our guys about defending and rebounding. I know he had 28 points but that really sealed the game for us and that’s a big-time play for him. So, I appreciate that, I just wanted to put that in there.”
Poplar added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Jhamir Brickus rounded out the double figure scorers with 10. In case you didn’t notice, 54 of Villanova’s 60 points came from Dixon, Poplar and Brickus.
The other six came from Enoch Boakye, who also added eight rebounds.
Jordan Longino had a tough night offensively, missing all six of his shot attempts, but he did chip in five rebounds and a team-high four assists. Tyler Perkins attempted just one shot, but he pulled down eight rebounds, tying Boakye for the team high.
It was a gritty win for ‘Nova and an entertaining game. The ‘Cats secured at least $50,000 in prize money with the win and will play UCF in the semifinals on Saturday.
