Isaiah Armwood knocked down a trey from left of the free-throw circle with 17 seconds remaining today to lift the fifth-ranked Wildcats to a 69-68 victory over George Mason at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan.

"He was really the fifth option," Villanova coach Jay Wright said by telephone. "It was like one of those shots where you go, 'No, no . . . yes!'"

Playing without freshman Mouphtaou Yarou, who flew back to Philadelphia before the game because of a viral infection, the Cats (3-0) needed their depth to survive after starters Corey Stokes, Taylor King and Antonio Pena fouled out, along with reserve Maurice Sutton. A total of 54 fouls were called, leading to 76 free-throw attempts.

Villanova, which trailed by 13 points in the first half and by five with 1 minute, 42 seconds to play, drew to within a point, 67-66, on Maalik Wayns' three-point basket with 41 seconds left.

Sherrod Wright made one of two free throws to put the Patriots (2-1) up by two. The Wildcats' Scottie Reynolds rushed downcourt and drove into the lane but his wing options, Wayns and Dominic Cheek, were guarded.

Reynolds looked behind him and passed to Armwood, who had watched almost the entire game from the bench before entering with one minute remaining after Sutton fouled out.

The shot was true and the Cats earned a second-round date today against No. 18 Dayton.

"It's hard sitting there and coming in at the end of the game," Armwood said. "But you have to have a good attitude on the bench. Everybody on this team wants to win and you have to stay together when things go wrong."

"Physically, he isn't there yet," Wright said, "but mentally and intellectually, he's there. He's got a great attitude. You don't make that shot if you're sitting on the bench pouting for 36 minutes."

George Mason never got off a final shot against the depleted but fired-up 'Nova defense.

"We played aggressive, not tentative," said Reynolds, who led the Wildcats with 18 points but coughed up eight of their 17 turnovers against the Patriots' press. "We knew after their last pass they weren't going to get the shot off."

Corey Fisher made only 1 of 12 shots from the field but knocked down 14 free throws to score 17 points.

The shooting statistics were brutal. The Wildcats shot 35.8 percent from the floor and 59 percent (23 of 39) from the free-throw line.

"I'm looking at it like, 'I don't recognize this team,' " Wright said. "We didn't handle the press well. During the game, I'm thinking, 'This is going to be a great lesson for us one way or the other.'

"The only good thing you can say is that it's a win. Thank God we play again" today.

Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or jjuliano@phillynews.com.