Down by 12 points, 59-47, midway through the second-half, The 16-1 Villanova Wildcats went on a 19-0 run to take a 66-59 lead over the 11-6 Maryland Terrapins. Once Villanova retook the lead, they never relinquished it. Maryland did not score from the 9:27 mark until there was 2:13 left in the game. During this 7 minute 14 second stretch the Terrapins were 0 for 8 from the field.
Although Maryland managed to cut Villanova’s lead to 3 points with 1:36 to go, Maalik Wayns hit a three-pointer from the corner to end the Maryland comeback. Villanova ended up on top 74-66 and won its last non-conference game of the regular season.
Villanova, which trailed at the half 36-33, won its eleventh game in a row. The Wildcats, who were short-handed due to Maurice Sutton being held out for a violation of team rules, and Dominic Cheek sustaining a knee injury early in the first-half, (Cheek did not play at all in the second- half), got a major lift from Sophomore Isaiah Armwood who grabbed 13 rebounds and kicked in 6 points.
Maalik Wayns led the way in scoring with 22 points, Corey Fisher added 17 points and had 5 assists, and Antonio Pena had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Mouph Yarou who sat out a good portion of the first-half with foul trouble also corraled 12 rebounds.
The Terrapins, coached by Gary Williams, were paced by Jordan Williams who had a monster double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Adrian Bowie and Dino Gregory each chipped in 10 points.
Next up for Villanova is a Monday afternoon game at Gampel Pavilion vs. Connecticut. The game begins at 3:30 pm on ESPN.
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Our video of Villanova’s post-game press conference with Jay Wright, Corey Fisher, and Maalik Wayns can be viewed below: