National Basketball Association
Villanova 73, Illinois 59
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials:
# Pat Driscoll, # John Gaffney, # Paul Szelc
Attendance:
924
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 7 Villanova 73, No. 25 Illinois 59: Dylan Ennis scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to highlight a victory for the Wildcats at the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Daniel Ochefu had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Darrun Hilliard II also scored 12 points for Villanova (9-0), which allowed fewer than 60 points for the fifth time in its last six games. The Wildcats shot 54.7 percent from the floor and overcame 16 turnovers, including five by JayVaughn Pinkston.
Malcolm Hill scored a career-high 20 points to pace Illinois (7-2), which has lost two of its last three - both defeats coming against ranked opponents - following a six-game winning streak to open the season. Rayvonte Rice, the Fighting Illini's leading scorer on the season, was limited to 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
A 7-0 run by Illinois forged a 38-38 tie with 16 1/2 minutes left, but Villanova answered with eight straight points, capped by Ochefu's dunk, to temporarily halt the momentum. Illinois caught up again at 50-50 and still was within 58-55 with just under seven minutes to go before the Wildcats scored 15 of the final 19 points, including four points apiece from Ochefu, Ennis and Josh Hart.
Pinkston had eight points and five rebounds in the first half as Villanova held a 33-27 edge at intermission. The Wildcats led for most of the opening 20 minutes before the Illini scored 13 of the final 21 points of the session to set up the entertaining second half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ennis, who was 2-of-5 from 3-point range, has made multiple 3s in eight of the Wildcats' nine games. ... Hart contributed 10 points off the Villanova bench to lead all reserves. He also pulled down six rebounds. ... Nnanna Egwu chipped in eight points and eight boards for the Illini, who were outrebounded 36-27.
Top Game Performances
| Illinois |
|
Villanova |
|
Malcolm Hill 20 |
Scoring |
Dylan Ennis 18 |
|
Ahmad Starks 4 |
Assists |
Dylan Ennis 3 |
|
Nnanna Egwu 9 |
Rebounds |
Josh Hart 7 |
|
Malcolm Hill 3 |
Free Throws Made |
JayVaughn Pinkston 4 |
|
Rayvonte Rice 4 |
Steals |
Dylan Ennis 3 |
|
Leron Black 1 |
Blocks |
Daniel Ochefu 4 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Illinois
|
59 |
41.0 |
5-16 |
4-8 |
13 |
27 |
3 |
6 |
14 |
| Villanova
|
73 |
53.7 |
4-12 |
11-14 |
13 |
32 |
5 |
8 |
16 |
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