Villanova Downs Cincinnati

Villanova was able to continue their steady climb up the Big East standings with a decisive 71-50 win over Cincinnati yesterday.

Dante Cunningham went 8-of-11 from the field and finished with a game-high 21 points, the seventh time this season that the senior forward has scored 20 points or more. Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson (9 points) each brought down a game-high 8 rebounds.

The Bearcats earned a 26-19 lead with under 4:30 minutes to play in the first half, but Villanova battled back. A Scottie Reynolds (11 points) layup with 4 seconds remaining in the half gave the Wildcats a lead which they would not surrender.

Neither team shot well from beyond the arc (Villanova went 2-for-12 and Cincinnati shot 8-for-31), but Villanova won the game by shooting over 50 percent from the field as compared to Cincinnati’s 28 percent.

Alvin Mitchell scored a team-high 15 points for the Bearcats, and also added 3 assists and 2 steals. Teammate Yancy Gates contributed 9 points and 7 rebounds.

Mitchell and Gates helped keep Cincinnati in the game, but Villanova pulled away by going on a 12-0 run with under 8 minutes remianing in regulation.

Villanova has now won 25 consecutive games at the Pavilion, a streak that goes back to January of 2007. The Wildcats are currently ranked #21 in the country and are in the midst of a three game winning streak.