Villanova beats West Virginia on the road

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - For Scottie Reynolds, there's no tougher place to play in the Big East than at the WVU Coliseum, so it was safe to assume there was no tougher place for Villanova to rebound from its loss to Georgetown.

The crowd of 15,593 - third largest in the 40-year history of the building - was ready. About 1,000 fans were outside the building two hours before game time, waiting for the doors to open. This was going to be a statement game for fifth-ranked West Virginia.

But Reynolds and the No. 4 Wildcats went out last night in the unwelcoming environment and silenced the crowd. The gritty senior scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and helped key a defensive effort in his team's 82-75 victory over the Mountaineers.

Corey Fisher added 17 points as Villanova (21-2, 10-1) finished 1-1 on its murderous three-day, two-game trek through Washington, D.C., and West Virginia that began with a 103-90 drubbing at Georgetown.

"That's something we always talk about: When things don't go your way, how you handle it," Reynolds said. "We responded the way we should. Hopefully, we can keep that going. We have to continue to get better. But this is a big step for us and for our season, too."

The Wildcats led for the final 35 minutes of the game, by as many as 13 in the first half and never by any fewer than three. They shot 56.9 percent from the field and limited the Mountaineers (19-4, 8-3) to 41 percent shooting.

Even though West Virginia shot 10 more free throws, the Cats outscored them by one at the line, going 19 of 22. Reynolds and Fisher went 17 of 20.

Villanova coach Jay Wright liked the fact that the Wildcats never allowed the crowd to generate any sustained noise, usually having a reply for any and every comeback attempt by the Mountaineers, whose six-game winning streak ended.

"We've had some nightmares in here," Wright said. "So I know how loud it can get. But I thought we did a good job of always stemming the tide. When they made runs, we answered so this place didn't get crazy like it can. I thought that was really important."

Defensively, the Wildcats kept Da'Sean Butler, WVU's leading scorer, under wraps. Butler shot 2 of 12 from the field and scored 13 points nearly a year after he torched the Cats for 43 in a 92-71 rout in the same building.

"In the St. John's game [Saturday], they were down, and he got it going in the second half," Wright said. "And once he got it going, it was over, there was nothing you could do. We were very concerned about him. But Reggie Redding did a great job on him."

Despite Reynolds' two points in the first half, the Wildcats held a 44-33 lead at the break thanks to 12 points from Fisher. After a slow start to the second half that saw Fisher pick up his third and fourth personal fouls, the Wildcats restored their halftime margin at 58-47 following a conventional three-point play from Reynolds.

The Mountaineers then surged and cut the deficit to three on two occasions, the final time at 64-61 on Kevin Jones' layup with 7 minutes, 17 seconds to play. But WVU managed just four points over the next 5:18, and the Wildcats extended their lead to 74-65 on Redding's runner with 2:22 to play.

As the Wildcats repeatedly marched to the line in the closing moments, the crowd gradually filed out of the arena - silently.

"We talk about it in the beginning of the season because you have guys asking, 'Where is the toughest place to play?' " Reynolds said. "And hands down for me, it's West Virginia. It's . . . I don't know, hostile."