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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Villanova 77, Rutgers 71
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 1, 2012
Where: Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, New Jersey
Officials: # Ed Corbett, # Karl Hess, # Earl Walton
Attendance: 5496

VILLANOVA 77, RUTGERS 71: Maalik Wayns collected 18 points and eight assists as visiting Villanova jumped out early and held off Rutgers to snap a four-game slide.

JayVaughn Pinkston added 18 points and Dominic Cheek scored 15 for the Wildcats (12-17, 5-12 Big East), who moved into a tie for 12th place in the conference with the Scarlet Knights (13-17, 5-12) and Pittsburgh.

The Wildcats hit their first nine field goal attempts and led 28-9 nine minutes into the game. Cheek hit three 3-pointers in the burst and four in the first half as Villanova stayed sharp.

The Wildcats ended up shooting 69 percent in the first half and going 8 for 10 from beyond the arc to take a 48-32 lead into the break.

The second half was a completely different story, as Rutgers came out with a 19-4 run to cut the deficit to 52-51 with 12:21 left.

Villanova, which has blown double-digit leads in four losses, managed to recover and never surrendered the advantage.

The Scarlet Knights had a pair of chances in the final minute to keep the game alive but freshman guard Myles Mack turned the ball over on consecutive possessions.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Dane Miller led Rutgers with 16 points and nine rebounds … Villanova shot 27 percent in the second half and committed 21 turnovers in the contest … The Scarlet Knights went 22 for 26 (85 percent) from the free throw line.
Top Game Performances
 
Villanova   Rutgers
JayVaughn Pinkston 18 Scoring Dane Miller 16
Maalik Wayns 8 Assists Jerome Seagears 7
Mouphtaou Yarou 11 Rebounds Dane Miller 9
JayVaughn Pinkston 6 Free Throws Made Dane Miller 6
Dominic Cheek 1 Steals Eli Carter 2
James Bell 1 Blocks Gilvydas Biruta 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Villanova 77 50.0 10-18 19-30 16 36 5 2 20
Rutgers 71 35.5 5-21 22-26 12 27 3 9 10