National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
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

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