Villanova saw it's tournament hopes come to an early end last night in a defeat to eighth-seeded UNC by a score of 78-71. The loss makes Villanova the first Philadelphia team to be eliminated from the field of 64 this year, but is just the beginning of a bright future for the Wildcats.
After a slow start to the first half, the Wildcats found themselves trailing the Tar Heels by 20 with seven minutes remaining in the first half. Villanova slowly began to close the gap between themselves and UNC. Entering the locker room at the half, the Wildcats trailed only 37-29.
Things got interesting in the second half, as Villanova closed in on UNC, taking a 45-44 lead at one point. The second half was back and forth for the entire twenty minutes, as Villanova outscored UNC 42-41 in the half. The Tar Heels took control over the final minute of the game and escaped with a 78-71 win over the Wildcats.
The Wildcats efforts were led by sophomore forward JayVaughn Pinkston. Pinkston scored 20 points while also grabbing 8 rebounds in the contest. Senior forward Mouphtaou Yarou also had an impressive game, scoring 17 points and collecting 8 rebounds in the contest.
Villanova also received solid contributions from their young guard combo. Sophomore Darrun Hilliard scored 18 points while also grabbing 6 rebounds. For the game, Hilliard also collected 2 assists, 2 steals, and one block. Freshman Ryan Arcidiacono scored 10 points and continued to show a lot of promise, although he did shoot only 2 for 11 from the field in the game.
So while the Wildcats season ended earlier than they would have liked it, they have nothing to hang their heads about after a solid season. With a young squad, this should just be the beginning of a very bright future for Jay Wright and company. As this team matures, they could become quite the contender, especially as young Arcidiacono looks poised to have a great college career.
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