Game ended at 8:40 PM eastern time. Villanova Wildcats defeat Monmouth Hawks 76-36. Some notes on the game are below.
-The lowly Monmouth Hawks took a 2-0 lead thirty-five seconds into the game, but they would never lead again in the game, as Villanova blitzed the home team early and often.
-The Wildcats led 11-7, then scored 13 consecutive points over a five minute span to really deflate Monmouth.
-The onslaught continued in the first half, with Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes virtually scoring at will. By half, both players were in double figures.
-From what I heard on the radio, it also sounded like Villanova was very active on defense, as they blocked numerous shots and created a lot of turnovers which led to transition points. Through 20 minutes, the Cats had 4 blocks and 5 steals.
-Halftime score: Villanova 44 Monmouth 17
More on the game after The Jump.
-With a 27 point lead at half, Villanova wanted to pour it on, pull the starters, and get the bench guys some PT. For the Hawks, all they could do was play for some pride.
-Villanova picked up right where they left off, extending their lead to 37 points with twelve minutes left in the game. Antonio Pena was rebounding, Maalik Wayns was getting to the line, Corey Fisher was penetrating, Mouphtaou Yarou was hitting the shots in the paint, and Corey Stokes was draining threes.
-When the lead ballooned to 40+ with six minutes remaining, Jay Wright emptied the bench, putting in the likes of Russell Wooten, Dallas Ouano, and Maurice Sutton. Wooten had the chance to notch his first points of the season, but he missed the front end of a 1 and 1 late in the game.
-In terms of stats, it was a well-rounded effort from the good guys. Corey Fisher had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Corey Stokes notched 19 points, including 5 threes. Mouphtaou Yarou put up 14 points on an efficient 6-9 shooting. Maalik Wayns only shot 30%, but he still scored 11 points and dished out 6 asissts. Antonio Pena and Dominic Cheek each contributed 8 rebounds as well. The high scorer for Monmouth was Phil Wait with 8 points.
-General observations:
- Although Monmouth is miserable, can't ask for a much better performance than that from the Wildcats. Good teams bury inferior opponents, and that's exactly what Villanova did.
- Team stats that reflect the ineptitude of the Hawks-13 total field goals, 1-23 from downtown, about 35% from the charity stripe.
- A 10-1 record is about what I expected for Villanova up to this point, but there's no more layup games from here on out. Big one against Temple next Thursday at the Pavilion.