VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) - Battered, bruised and worn down, Villanova
found a way to keep its home winning streak going.
Up ahead for the No. 23 Wildcats is a needed break.
Scottie Reynolds scored 19 points, Corey Fisher had 15 and
Reggie Redding 14 to lead banged-up Villanova past pesky Niagara,
77-62 on Wednesday night.
"I was happy we kind of gutted it out," coach Jay Wright said.
"It's not a pretty victory, but a good one to have in the bank."
The injury report has been about as much a pregame staple at
Villanova this season as the layup drills.
The Wildcats (3-0) played their third straight game without
swingman Dwayne Anderson (foot), and 6-foot-10 center Casiem
Drummond (foot) was limited to only 2 minutes.
Corey Stokes scored seven points and played with a taped
sprained left thumb.
The Wildcats played their third game in six days, leaving them
little time to practice with a full squad or recover from the
nagging injuries.
"We just have to be smart about it," Reynolds said. "We have
to be mature and learn from film and go out there with the idea
that we've got to get better in a shorter period of time."
Villanova doesn't play again until Nov. 25 against Monmouth.
The Wildcats were just vulnerable enough to be severely tested
at home by Niagara. The Purple Eagles (1-1) opened the second half
on a hot streak and a pair of 3s helped slice the deficit to single
digits.
Reynolds sank two from the free-throw line around the 8-minute
mark and a jumper by Redding let the Wildcats regain a double-digit
lead at 60-48. From there, they slowly did enough to win their 18th
straight home game. Led by Reynolds' 9-for-10 mark, Villanova went
28 of 38 from the free-throw line.
"They make you pay for your mistakes and it's hard to play a
mistake-free game when they're as good as they are," Niagara coach
Joe Mihalich said.
Tyrone Lewis scored 16 points and Rob Garrison had 15 for
Niagara.
This was a homecoming of sorts for some of the Purple Eagles.
Mihalich was a former La Salle standout and assistant coach for the
Explorers, assistant coach Phil Martelli Jr. played at Saint
Joseph's for his father, and forward Bilal Benn transferred after
playing two seasons for Villanova.
Niagara had their mini-run early in the second half to keep the
game close. Lewis hit a 3-pointer and Benson Egemonye followed with
a tough inside bucket and free throw. Another free throw cut the
gap to 40-38, and the Villanova fans that came expecting to see
another easy win were pretty quiet in the Pavilion.
Redding hit a 3 to give the Wildcats a little bit of space on
the scoreboard, but it didn't last long. Lewis and Garrison each
sank 3-pointers and the deficit was back down to five.
The Purple Eagles just didn't have enough left to finish off
their Big East opponent.
"That might be the little stretch where we have some regrets,"
Mihalich said. "We could have been a little bit better and we
weren't and they made us pay for it."
Redding's jumper capped a 9-0 spurt that was sorely needed once
Dante Cunningham fouled out. Cunningham, who scored a career-high
31 against Fordham on Monday, finished with 11 points.
"We knew what we were doing, we just weren't doing it well,"
Wright said. "We got tentative against the zone and if you're
playing against the zone, you've got to make shots."
This was a preliminary round game for the Philly Hoop Group
Classic. The championship round games will be played Nov. 28-29 at
the Palestra.
Niagara dropped its 18th straight game against ranked opponents
and hasn't beat a Top 25 team since a win over No. 4 St. John's in
1984.
"We've got to look back and say that this game made us
better," Mihalich said.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)