19-0 run lifts Villanova past Maryland

Villanova desperately needed to find a way to climb out of a 12-point, second-half hole Saturday, but Corey Fisher appeared to be running on fumes as he lazily dribbled the ball in the frontcourt while a wary Maryland defender watched.

Suddenly, the Wildcats senior raised up and knocked down a three-point basket, then added an up-and-under circus shot in the lane followed by another three-ball, to add a spark to what would become a 19-0 run.

The seventh-ranked Wildcats, using only seven players in the second half because of an injury and a disciplinary benching, used their stunning spurt to gain their 11th consecutive victory, overcoming the Terrapins, 74-66, before a lively crowd of 17,477 at the Wells Fargo Center.

Because of their short bench, the starters for the Wildcats (16-1) had to grind out big minutes. Fisher rested for just over a minute-and-a-half in the second half and played 37 minutes overall. Forward Antonio Pena was on the floor the entire second half, missing just 30 seconds in the game.

"Coach ain't going to take me out even if I'm tired," said Fisher, who finished with 17 points and five assists. "That's the responsibility of being a senior, just going through everything and putting yourself in a tough situation.

"Coach kept asking me, 'Are you tired?' and I kept telling him, 'No.' I wanted to do it for guys like (Corey) Stokes and Tone (Pena) and just for the young guys to see that, that we can play through anything."

Villanova sixth man Dominic Cheek suffered a left knee injury midway through the first half, returned a short time later for 20 seconds and then left for good. Reserve center Maurice Sutton was benched for giving a throat-slash gesture during Wednesday's contest against Louisville.

"He didn't (direct it) at Louisville," Villanova coach Jay Wright said of the sophomore. "He's just an excitable kid and we had to teach him a lesson, don't do that. We respect our opponents. He does. He just gets excited."

As the starters piled up minutes in the second half, it looked as if the Wildcats were spent, especially after the Terps (11-6) took a 59-47 lead on a layup by super sophomore Jordan Williams with 9 minutes, 27 seconds to play.

But that would be Maryland's last points for more than seven minutes. The Wildcats rallied and kept it going even after Maalik Wayns went to the bench with 7:57 remaining with four personal fouls.

Fisher's own 8-0 run tied the game at 59, and freshman James Bell gave the Cats the lead for good on a conventional three-point play with 5:25 remaining. Meanwhile, the Terps stopped looking inside and missed eight straight field-goal attempts.

The run ended with 3:14 left, on two free throws by Isiaih Armwood, who starred off the bench with a career-high 13 rebounds in just 22 minutes.

That boosted 'Nova's lead to 66-59. After Maryland closed to within three, Wayns, who entered the game shooting just 21 percent from three-point range, drained a trey with 1:08 left, then sank three free throws in the last 21 seconds.

"My shot isn't falling for me right now," said Wayns, who led the Wildcats with 22, "but my teammates have total confidence in me, so I just shot it with confidence."

In addition to Armwood, big men Mouphtaou Yarou (12 rebounds) and Pena (10) were big on the inside for Villanova. Williams finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds but he was not as much of a factor in the second half as in the first.

"Armwood, Yarou and Pena on the defensive glass were outstanding," Wright said. "And it took all three of them to guard Williams. Obviously we're very impressed with Williams . . . He's as good as any inside player we've seen."

The Terrapins, who played three road games – Duke, Wake Forest and Villanova – in a week, missed a chance for a quality win. They already had lost to Pittsburgh, Illinois, Temple and Duke.

"We had to really dig deep today to play and we did," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "We could have won the game if we were to play better. We played at a really good level for about 33 minutes . . . but not 40."