but his Wildcats were nearly expelled in dramatic fashion tonight.
Villanova, the No. 2 seed in the South regional, needed an early surge in overtime to beat No. 15 seed Robert Morris 73-70 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
The Colonials never looked shy in the face of immense pressure, and held their ship together despite a collection of spurts from the Wildcats. Robert Morris held a handful of leads amounting to five points or more but foul trouble ultimately ended its bid at the most unlikely of upsets.
Karon Abraham was the game's best player, and supplied Robert Morris with 23 points on the afternoon. Down four points in the waning seconds, he sank a deep 3-pointer to cut the lead to 71-70. Hope still remained, but a quick pair of free throws salted it away for coach Jay Wright and the Wildcats.
Reynolds totaled 20 points for Villanova but made just two field goals. He was 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the clutch, and the Wildcats capitalized on repetitive foul trouble for the Colonials. In each half, Robert Morris was in the penalty or double bonus just 10 minutes in.
He declined to elaborate on the benching, but was jovial in his post-game news conference.
No one player is bigger than our program
Reynolds said. PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Scottie Reynolds said his coach provided him with a teaching lesson but his Wildcats were nearly expelled in dramatic fashion tonight.
Villanova, the No. 2 seed in the South regional, needed an early surge in overtime to beat No. 15 seed Robert Morris 73-70 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
The Colonials never looked shy in the face of immense pressure, and held their ship together despite a collection of spurts from the Wildcats. Robert Morris held a handful of leads amounting to five points or more but foul trouble ultimately ended its bid at the most unlikely of upsets.
Karon Abraham was the game's best player, and supplied Robert Morris with 23 points on the afternoon. Down four points in the waning seconds, he sank a deep 3-pointer to cut the lead to 71-70. Hope still remained, but a quick pair of free throws salted it away for coach Jay Wright and the Wildcats.
Reynolds totaled 20 points for Villanova but made just two field goals. He was 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the clutch, and the Wildcats capitalized on repetitive foul trouble for the Colonials. In each half, Robert Morris was in the penalty or double bonus just 10 minutes in.
He declined to elaborate on the benching, but was jovial in his post-game news conference.
No one player is bigger than our program
Reynolds said.
It appeared that Abraham had put the upset into his teams' hands when he converted a reverse layup underneath with just under four minutes remaining, but two of Robert Morris' key players fouled out soon after.
As Reynolds became more aggressive and effective late in the game, he forced the Colonials into fouls and with the penalty in effect, put key points on the board. When Robert Morris saw that Reynolds wasn't going to miss from the stripe, the players' shoulders dropped a little. The balloon that was full of air minutes earlier was now a wrinkled fragment on the floor.
The game was especially tenuous for the Villanova faithful, who had witnessed similar shock when the Wildcats were bumped from the Big East tournament.
We didn't let the past interfere with what we were trying to accomplish
Reynolds said.
Villanova plays the winner of St. Mary's and Richmond Saturday here at The Dunk.
22
NCAA 2010
Rob Mixer
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Villanova forward Maurice Sutton attempts to lay in a basket in the final second of regulation. The ball would glance off the rim.
Villanova defeated Robert Morris 73-70 in overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Robert Morris, a 15 seed, led the entirety of regulation, only giving up the lead to second seeded Villanova in overtime. (Kyle Grantham | Director of Photography)
