Pinkston rescues Villanova in win over Providence

ON SUNDAY afternoon at Pittsburgh, Villanova had given up a 22-2 run late in the first half, trailed by 18 points early in the second half and yet had a chance to tie things late before losing by nine.

Last night at the Pavilion against Providence, the Wildcats allowed an 18-2 run to close out the first half, and fell behind by 19 with 14 minutes left.

Once again, they came back. Only this time, they made it all the way.

The Wildcats, who had a 19-1 spurt midway through the second half despite losing leading scorer Maalik Wayns (three points) with a left knee injury, came away with a 74-72 win after being behind by five with under 2 minutes remaining. But they would score the last seven, all by freshman JayVaughn Pinkston, who finished with a career-best 28 points to go with a career-high 14 rebounds. He tied it on a breakaway dunk off a midcourt turnover with just over a minute showing, then put his team ahead for the first time since 28-26 with a layup at 23.5 seconds.

At the other end, Maurice Sutton blocked a runner by Gerard Coleman (16 points), and a hurried three-pointer by Bryce Cotton (20) at the end glanced off the front of the rim.

Pinkston, who scored Villanova's final nine, including three free throws, had 17 in the second half on 8-for-9 shooting. He also played 34 minutes, 10 more than his average.

"My team needed me," said the 6-6 forward. "I had to step up. Tonight was my night.

"We just went out there and do what we do, play how we play. I saw some openings. When I do, I'm taking the drive. I just go out there and play."

And when it mattered most, he was the obvious difference.

"It just shows how hard that kid's worked," said coach Jay Wright. "You just get special guys sometimes."

Did we mention that Pinkston wore a No. 53 jersey in the second half after taking some stitches over his left eye following an inadvertent collision that left blood on his No. 22?

It was a game that matched the 14th- and 15th-place teams in the 16-strong Big East. So, how many would have predicted that when the schedule came out?

Providence, which had lost five of its last six and nine of 11, maybe.

Villanova, which had dropped three straight and eight of 11, probably not so much. But for whatever reasons, it's turned into that kind of season for a program that's made seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments.

The Wildcats (11-13, 4-8) were able to win for the first time since Jan. 21. Which might not sound like too huge of a deal, especially considering that the Friars (13-12, 2-10) and first-year coach Ed Cooley hadn't won on the road since just before Christmas.

But this one turned out to be as much about how it happened.

The Friars still haven't won here since 2004, and have now dropped 21 consecutive conference road games.

But for a while, they couldn't miss against a Villanova defense that has been suspect on too many occasions. But during the Wildcats' spurt that got them back in it, Providence missed 12 consecutive field goals.

The Wildcats drew even at 63 with just over 5 minutes left on a three-pointer by Dominic Cheek. But Providence would score the next five. The Friars were still up five with less than 2 minutes showing. But then it pretty much became Pinkston's time.

"It felt great,'' said Cheek, who scored 17. "I don't think we did anything different [after intermission]. We just stuck to the game plan, played more aggressive and more together on defense.

"We just played 40 minutes. [Pinkston's] been coming along. We expect him to do it every night for us."

It was Villanova's biggest comeback since overcoming a 21-point deficit against LSU in South Philly in December 2007.

"I don't know what to say," said Wright, whose team will get 8 days off before heading to South Florida, which is 11-1 at home and beat the Wildcats here by 17 a month ago. "We're just a team that's learning how to play together. It's great for [the young guys] to go through this. It'll be good for us in the long run, bodes well for the future. It'll give them a lot of confidence."

The Wildcats also got 17 points and eight boards from Mouphtaou Yarou, who suffered through a 3-for-13 game at Pitt. This time he went 7-for-10. It makes a difference. And they had fewer turnovers (11 to 13) for the second straight time. Never a bad thing, particularly with this group.

Wright said an MRI will be performed on Wayns, but the medical staff told him they didn't think there was any ACL damage.

"We could have used him," Cheek said. "He's a big part of our team. But . . . "

Sometimes, it doesn't have to compute. You just take it and move on, knowing it sure beats more of the same.