Another sleepy, sloppy first half for the Wildcats. Maybe it was the 8 day layoff, maybe it was exams and the looming holiday, maybe it was the opponent, but whatever it was Nova started slow, and that has been a bit of theme throughout the course of the out-of-conference schedule. You can get away with that against the American's of the world, but in the Big East or the postseason, teams will make you pay for that. Hopefully it was simply one of the factors listed above, and the lesson has been learned before it results in a notch in the "L" column. Despite the disappointing first half play, the Cats took an 11 point lead into the locker room.
Luckily the second half was a completely different story, and the team played Villanova basketball. The Cats outscored American 50-19 in the second half en route to a 90-48 win.
Hart again led the way with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Bridges was excellent again with 15 points on 5-8 shooting, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. I can't wait to watch this kid continue to grow and mature. Brunson had a stellar game as well with 14 points on 5-9 and 6 assists. Paschall was excellent off the bench, chipping in 15 points on 5-6 shooting and 6 rebounds. DiVincenzo looked much better, with 12 points on 4-5, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and another impressive block. He continued to bring his excellent energy and effort. Jenkins continued to struggle with his shot, which is a bit concerning, but contributed in other ways. He had 7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Reynolds had another efficient performance with 7 points on just 3 shots and 5 rebounds. Painter and Delaney were each able to get a bit of extended run, which should help down the road, and Painter managed to pull down 4 rebounds.
Nova shot 58.5% from the floor and 38% from three, and continued to make hay at the free throw stripe, knocking down 20-25 attempts, while conceding just 7 free throws. They dominated on the glass 38-17, and gave up just 2 offensive rebounds. They assisted on 18 of 31 field goals and and limited the turnovers to 10 after the sloppy first half.
Jenkins' shooting woes and the slow starts are the areas of concern, but it was good to see Nova assert themselves in the second half and control the game the way they were expected to.
Nova escapes the out-of-conference unscathed and with good wins against Purdue, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, as well as a Temple win that is looking pretty good at the moment. Now the Cats will begin their Big East title defense, starting with DePaul a week from tonight.
Luckily the second half was a completely different story, and the team played Villanova basketball. The Cats outscored American 50-19 in the second half en route to a 90-48 win.
Hart again led the way with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Bridges was excellent again with 15 points on 5-8 shooting, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. I can't wait to watch this kid continue to grow and mature. Brunson had a stellar game as well with 14 points on 5-9 and 6 assists. Paschall was excellent off the bench, chipping in 15 points on 5-6 shooting and 6 rebounds. DiVincenzo looked much better, with 12 points on 4-5, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and another impressive block. He continued to bring his excellent energy and effort. Jenkins continued to struggle with his shot, which is a bit concerning, but contributed in other ways. He had 7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Reynolds had another efficient performance with 7 points on just 3 shots and 5 rebounds. Painter and Delaney were each able to get a bit of extended run, which should help down the road, and Painter managed to pull down 4 rebounds.
Nova shot 58.5% from the floor and 38% from three, and continued to make hay at the free throw stripe, knocking down 20-25 attempts, while conceding just 7 free throws. They dominated on the glass 38-17, and gave up just 2 offensive rebounds. They assisted on 18 of 31 field goals and and limited the turnovers to 10 after the sloppy first half.
Jenkins' shooting woes and the slow starts are the areas of concern, but it was good to see Nova assert themselves in the second half and control the game the way they were expected to.
Nova escapes the out-of-conference unscathed and with good wins against Purdue, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, as well as a Temple win that is looking pretty good at the moment. Now the Cats will begin their Big East title defense, starting with DePaul a week from tonight.