National Basketball Association
Rutgers 77, Villanova 76
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Where: Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, New Jersey
Officials:
# Wally Rutecki, # Michael Stephens, # Earl Walton
Attendance:
6892
By SportsDirect Inc.
Jonathan Mitchell hit a 3-pointer and was fouled with one second left and hit the free throw as Rutgers stunned No. 10 Villanova, 77-76, in New Jersey on Wednesday.
Mitchell finished with 25 points and six rebounds and James Beatty scored 15 for the Scarlet Knights (13-11, 4-8 Big East), who took down their first ranked team this season after a number of close calls.
Corey Fisher, who collected 23 points, 10 assists and five steals for the Wildcats (19-5, 7-4), split two free throws with nine seconds left to put Villanova up, 76-73. Mitchell took a pass from Beatty on the other end and hoisted up a shot from behind the arc as the clock ran down, drawing a touch foul on the elbow from Fisher. His free throw won it.
The Wildcats led, 67-54, after Fisher hit a 3-pointer with 4:28 to play, but Beatty hit four 3-pointers and Mitchell added two more in the final 4:07 to erase the deficit.
Villanova, which shot 52 percent in the first half to take a 35-28 lead at the break, fell a full three games behind Pittsburgh in the race for the Big East regular-season title. The Wildcats host the Panthers on Saturday and close the season against them as well, keeping their slim hopes alive.
Top Game Performances
Villanova |
|
Rutgers |
Corey Fisher 23 |
Scoring |
Jonathan Mitchell 25 |
Corey Fisher 10 |
Assists |
Mike Coburn 8 |
Antonio Pena 8 |
Rebounds |
Gilvydas Biruta 9 |
Isaiah Armwood 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Jonathan Mitchell 6 |
Corey Fisher 5 |
Steals |
Dane Miller 3 |
N/A |
Blocks |
N/A |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Villanova
|
76 |
55.8 |
8-16 |
20-27 |
16 |
27 |
0 |
6 |
|
Rutgers
|
77 |
47.4 |
8-17 |
15-21 |
15 |
26 |
0 |
7 |
|