November 15, 2035
Preseason NIT, First Round
(1) #1 Villanova 94, (16) Savannah State 56
We have very little trouble in our opening game, as we advance with a win over Savannah State. Shooting 33-for-53 will lead to this kind of outcome.
All five starters score in double figures, led by
Mason Reynolds (18p/8a/7r), who picks up where he left off last year.
Eldon Castanon (17p/4a/4r),
Connor Baxter (17p/3a), and first-time starters
Charlie Lambert (10p/9r/2b) and
Sebastian Roberts (10p/6r) provide quality assistance.
Record: 1-0.
November 17, 2035
Preseason NIT, Quarterfinal
(1) #1 Villanova 94, (8) Penn State 62
We continue to shoot the ball well, hitting 57% from three point range and 58% overall, and we move on to the semifinal.
Connor Baxter leads the way with 26 points and 4 steals, while
Mason Reynolds and
Eldon Castanon provide 17 apiece. Baxter and Castanon each have 7 assists.
Charlie Lambert blocks 3 shots, and
Erick Sullivan ties for the team lead with 6 rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
Record: 2-0.
November 24, 2035
Preseason NIT Semifinal
Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 96, (4) #6 Texas 67
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Texas (2-1, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Art Watson C 19 0-2 5-6 1 6 1 2 5
Norbert Davis PF 27 8-16 4-9 1 3 0 3 20
Robert Cottingham SF 25 1-2 0-0 2 5 0 2 3
Chase Adams SG 26 2-5 0-0 0 2 7 3 6
Larry Morton PG 29 3-14 1-2 1 2 1 2 8
Glenn Fortney C 9 2-5 0-0 1 1 1 5 4
Marco Nieto C 18 2-4 1-2 2 7 2 1 5
Inocencio Rey SG 12 1-2 0-0 1 3 0 5 2
Dave Mallon SF 10 3-3 0-0 0 3 1 0 7
Lawrence Torres PF 6 0-2 0-0 0 1 2 1 0
Dennis Conaway SG 11 1-3 0-0 1 1 1 2 2
Hassan Poole PG 7 1-3 2-2 0 0 1 0 5
Turnovers: 18 (N.Davis 2, R.Cottingham 4, C.Adams 4,
L.Morton 3, G.Fortney 2, D.Conaway 1, H.Poole 2)
Blocked Shots: 3 (A.Watson 1, N.Davis 1, I.Rey 1)
Steals: 7 (R.Cottingham 1, C.Adams 1, M.Nieto 1, I.Rey
1, D.Mallon 2, L.Torres 1)
3P FGs: 6-21 (R.Cottingham 1-2, C.Adams 2-5, L.Morton
1-6, I.Rey 0-1, D.Mallon 1-1, L.Torres 0-1, D.Conaway
0-2, H.Poole 1-3)
Villanova (3-0, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Sebastian Roberts C 18 3-3 3-3 0 7 0 4 9
Charlie Lambert PF 27 5-9 2-2 2 7 2 2 13
Mason Reynolds SF 31 3-9 7-8 2 5 6 1 15
Connor Baxter SG 30 7-16 6-8 1 5 5 1 22
Eldon Castanon PG 31 6-11 2-2 0 2 7 1 17
Max Bennett SG 14 3-5 2-2 1 3 0 2 10
Trey Partridge PG 4 0-0 4-4 0 0 0 0 4
Matt Valentine SF 9 0-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Kyle Gribble PF 22 1-5 2-2 2 4 0 3 4
Erick Sullivan C 12 1-2 0-0 1 6 0 2 2
Turnovers: 14 (S.Roberts 1, M.Reynolds 4, C.Baxter 5,
T.Partridge 2, M.Valentine 1, E.Sullivan 1)
Blocked Shots: 6 (C.Lambert 5, K.Gribble 1)
Steals: 6 (M.Reynolds 2, C.Baxter 3, T.Partridge 1)
3P FGs: 10-30 (C.Lambert 1-3, M.Reynolds 2-5, C.Baxter
2-9, E.Castanon 3-8, M.Bennett 2-4, K.Gribble 0-1)
Player of Game: PG Eldon Castanon (VLNV)
Our third straight big win puts us in the championship game of the Preseason NIT. This time, our victim is a top 10 team.
I like the way all our players are contributing: scoring, rebounding, making plays, defending.
Charlie Lambert, for example, has developed into an excellent rim protector, especially considering he's a generous 6'9". And, while it's still early days, we're averaging over 21 assists a game again.
Record: 3-0.
November 26, 2035
Preseason NIT Final
Code:
(1) #1 Villanova 113, (3) #5 Miami 103
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Miami (3-1, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Beau Magness C 20 2-6 2-2 2 6 1 4 6
Thomas Caro PF 28 3-5 4-5 1 9 2 1 10
Jason Baca SF 31 8-16 2-2 1 3 2 1 21
Angelo Davis SG 32 12-17 2-2 2 3 3 3 32
Gary Melo PG 33 2-4 0-0 1 7 7 4 5
Lou Dunagan PF 18 4-13 2-2 3 5 0 3 10
Mitchel Velazquez C 13 1-4 5-5 1 3 0 2 7
Thurman Bowes PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Ronald Hightower SG 21 4-7 0-0 1 2 6 4 12
Jeff Resendez SF 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
Joseph Bahr SG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 15 (B.Magness 1, T.Caro 2, J.Baca 4, A.Davis
2, G.Melo 2, L.Dunagan 1, R.Hightower 2, J.Resendez 1)
Blocked Shots: 3 (B.Magness 1, T.Caro 1, L.Dunagan 1)
Steals: 2 (A.Davis 1, G.Melo 1)
3P FGs: 14-19 (J.Baca 3-5, A.Davis 6-7, G.Melo 1-2,
R.Hightower 4-5)
Villanova (4-0, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Sebastian Roberts C 25 0-5 0-1 4 8 3 2 0
Charlie Lambert PF 25 3-4 7-9 0 2 0 3 14
Mason Reynolds SF 34 20-30 3-3 6 12 5 2 52
Connor Baxter SG 31 3-7 0-0 2 3 7 1 7
Eldon Castanon PG 27 5-7 4-6 0 4 1 4 15
Max Bennett SG 16 2-5 0-0 0 3 8 0 5
Trey Partridge PG 5 0-1 1-2 0 0 1 0 1
Matt Valentine SF 8 3-5 1-2 0 0 0 1 10
Kyle Gribble PF 22 2-9 5-6 5 9 3 2 9
Erick Sullivan C 7 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0
Turnovers: 13 (S.Roberts 2, M.Reynolds 3, C.Baxter 1,
E.Castanon 4, M.Bennett 2, T.Partridge 1)
Blocked Shots: 3 (C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 2)
Steals: 6 (C.Lambert 1, M.Reynolds 1, C.Baxter 1,
E.Castanon 2, K.Gribble 1)
3P FGs: 16-35 (S.Roberts 0-1, C.Lambert 1-1, M.Reynolds
9-17, C.Baxter 1-3, E.Castanon 1-1, M.Bennett 1-3,
T.Partridge 0-1, M.Valentine 3-4, K.Gribble 0-4)
Player of Game: SF Mason Reynolds (VLNV)
Mason Reynolds enjoys the day of a lifetime as we outscore the Hurricanes in an exciting Preseason NIT championship game.
Mason shatters our school records for points in a game; the previous high was 37. He wipes out the records for field goals made and attempted; the old records were 14 and 24. He ties a record for threes made in a game that's held by several Wildcats.
His 52 points is four short of the NCAA and Big East record, held by West Virginia's
Daniel Kilby, who scored 56 one night in 2028. His 20 field goals made ties an NCAA mark that's held by five other players.
He's certainly not the only player who plays well tonight, but this game is his.
Record: 4-0.
