Wildcat Wrap
Final Score: Wildcats 79, Memphis 63
D Delivered Early: The Wildcats restricted Memphis to 1-of-10 capturing from the sector within the recreation’s first six minutes, offering the gasoline to a 16-2 lead. Nova additionally drained 5-of-8 from past the arc within the opening stretch.
At the opposite finish of the courtroom, crisp ball motion helped the Wildcats’ offense discover open seems from past the arc. Villanova sank 6-of-9 from deep within the opening 8:51 to build a 19-5 benefit over the Tigers. All six of the Wildcats subject targets over the primary 9 minutes got here from distance.
Perhaps most spectacular on the offensive finish was that six Wildcats scored over the primary 12:10 and produced eight assists on its first eight subject targets. VU held a 23-8 lead on the U8 break within the first half.
The protection remained the primary story for the remainder of the interval. By halftime, the Tigers have been simply 4-of-27 from the sector (.148), together with 1-of-12 (.008) from past the arc. Meanwhile, the ‘Cats leaned on a balanced offense led by three of its newcomers: Tyler Burton (9 factors), TJ Bamba (eight factors) and Hakim Hart (seven factors).
At halftime, Villanova led Memphis 44-18.
“I actually thought we got here out and set the tone,” said Wildcats head coach Kyle Neptune. “I used to be actually happy with our guys, particularly the primary 10 minutes or so.”
Second Thoughts: In distinction to their scorching begin to the primary half, the Wildcats misfired on their first 5 makes an attempt from distance over the primary 4:02 of the second half. But they held Memphis to 4 factors in that span to carry a 49-20 edge.
Three tips about consecutive possessions by Justin Moore helped Villanova push its lead again as much as 59-27 with 11:14 on the second half clock.
The Tigers, nevertheless, used a 24-3 burst over 5:28 to shut the margin to 67-53 with simply over 4 minutes remaining. Dixon and Moore returned to the ground for the ‘Cats and the senior ahead promptly scored on a drive to the objective and was fouled on the 4:01 mark to push the lead as much as 69-53.
Most Valuable Player: Dixon was named the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis MVP after averaging 21.6 factors and eight.0 rebounds per outing throughout the three contests performed on Paradise Island.
Moore joined Dixon on the All-Tournament crew.
What They Said: “We at all times have a progress mindset,” famous Neptune, when requested how the crew has bounced again with 4 consecutive victories after its lone loss to date, at Penn on Nov. 13. “I believed we acquired rather a lot higher defensively, particularly these final three video games. That’s at all times been our mindset.
“We realized rather a lot about our crew right here. We have been examined and have been resilient. We have been in some battles. That’s what you need. You need to be examined. That’s a giant factor for a crew. We’re glad it ended up the way in which it did.”
Said Moore: “I’m simply happy with my guys and the coaches. We caught collectively. We put a whole lot of work in each day. Just us grinding and coming collectively is what I’m happy with.”
One Significant Story: Villanova augmented its defensive effort with balanced scoring. TJ Bamba led the way in which with 13 factors whereas Dixon, Moore, Tyler Burton added 11 factors and Mark Armstrong 10 factors. In all, 9 Wildcats scored on this one.
The Wildcats additionally dished out 14 assists on 26 subject targets with Jordan Longino setting the tempo in that class with 5 helpers.
Perfect in Paradise: With the win and their third Battle 4 Atlantis title in as many visits to Paradise Island, the Wildcats improved to 9-0 all-time within the Bahamas.
