Nova Wins the Holy War

Villanova has won the 2008 Holy War after knocking off Saint Joseph's 59-56 at the Pavilion. Down by 1 late, Scottie Reynolds drove the lane and was fouled. He nailed both free throws to give Nova a 57-56 lead with a little over 4 seconds left. Dante Cunnigham stole the following inbound pass and made two free throws to lock up the win.

From what I was able to hear, Nova allowed far too many layups in the first half, which allowed the Hawks to have a 35-26 lead at the break. Nova's defense stiffened in the second half and they outscored the Hawks 34-21 in the second half.

After losing to Texas on Tuesday night, Villanova needed this win over their rivalry to get their concentration back and ready for the Big East.

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The Hawks Fail to Fly

Saint Joseph's who was hyped to be one of the lower seeds to advance to the next round, failed to do so. In what looked like an even game in the books, both teams hitting 24 field goals and 6 three point shots, Oklahoma hit 8 more free throws to win 72-64.

It was all Oklahoma for most of the game as they went on a late first half run to go into the half up 12. Saint Joseph's tried to battle back, but their star, Pat Calathes, was unable to really develop any scoring. St. Joe's climbed back to within four points, but they never got any closer.

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