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02 September 2007


'Cats top Carleton in exhibition

posted by Pete @ LetsGoNova.com
9/02/2007 07:10:00 AM
Villanova won its first of four Canadian exhibition games tonight with a 61-46 victory over Carleton University, which hosted the game.

Villanova University's official Web site has a recap and a box score.

Since neither audio or video were available, it's hard for me to give much insight on how Villanova's players looked.

I can, however, read through the box score and note what jumps out at me.

The most important fact I can glean from the box score is that the starters were Drummond, Cunningham, Clark, Redding, and Reynolds. I do not expect that lineup to last long, however, as it makes too much sense to start Corey Fisher at the point.

The lineup I would most like to see start is Drummond, Cunningham, Redding, Reynolds, and Fisher. Clark would be the first man off the bench to provide a scoring and energy boost, followed by Pena to spell frontcourt players, with Stokes and Grant coming in to give guards a breather.

The next thing to note from the box score is Villanova's excellent defense. Granted, Carleton is not USC or UCLA, but to hold any decent college team to 46 points is admirable, and Carleton is a decent college team. Villanova only allowed 19 first-half points, and according to the official recap, the 'Cats held the Ravens scoreless the game's first four minutes.

Dante Cunningham led the 'Cats in scoring tonight with 13 points on 4-11 shooting. Scottie Reynolds added 12 points and played the most minutes of any Wildcat with 34. Shane Clark scored 11 on efficient 4-8 shooting, and led the team in rebounds with 7.

Reggie Redding scored just 1 point on 0-4 shooting but did lead the team in assists, with 5. Freshman guard Malcolm Grant looked to have played well in his 10 minutes with 5 points and 2 boards.

The much awaited debut of the two Coreys was not as spectacular as many anticipated. Corey Fisher scored 7 times in 9 attempts from the charity stripe, but was 0-2 from the field in his 27 minutes. He added a steal and an assist.

Corey Stokes did not see much playing time tonight and was 0-2 from the field in 5 minutes.

Next up for the Wildcats is Queen's University, Sunday at noon at Carleton.

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3 Comments:

At 9:55 PM, September 02, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good result. However, I'm not sure if Drummond is ready to start yet. Also, what is your opinion on Pena? I was expecting him to get some playing time. He is very athletic, and a tough match-up for many defenses.

 
At 9:55 PM, September 02, 2007, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good result. However, I'm not sure if Drummond is ready to start yet. Also, what is your opinion on Pena? I was expecting him to get some playing time. He is very athletic, and a tough match-up for many defenses.

 
At 12:52 AM, September 03, 2007, Blogger Pete @ LetsGoNova.com said...

I look at Pena as one of the team's best frontcourt scorers and I think he should play a lot of minutes.

The reason I prefer Drummond starting is because his defense is vastly improved and he is a great ballhandler for someone of his size, and a great complement to the likes of Redding, Fisher, and Reynolds.

 

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