Villanova clobbers Houston Baptist

In its second year of NCAA Division I basketball, Houston Baptist is probably best known as being the school where Colin Montgomerie played before he went on to a successful career in golf.

Being a golf aficionado himself, Villanova coach Jay Wright probably would have liked to learn some tips from Montgomerie. He surely didn't learn too much about his basketball team tonight.

The 17th-ranked Wildcats pretty much did whatever they wanted against the Huskies, taking a 26-point halftime lead and coasting to a 93-57 victory over the winless visitors to extend their record to 8-0.

The Wildcats, who shot 56.4 percent from the field, put in a good workout and now can rest up for two difficult games next week - a matchup Tuesday against eighth-ranked Texas in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden and a Big Five battle Thursday versus St. Joseph's.

Wright said the Wildcats picked up this game because "we needed a game late and we couldn't get one.

"We were calling people seeing if we could go on the road and play," he said. "But somebody called Houston Baptist and they had just lost a game [on their schedule], so we picked them up. This was really late, around September."

Probably the Wildcats' biggest goal coming in was to avoid injuries. That went out the window when Shane Clark rolled his right ankle battling for a rebound with 13 minutes, 39 seconds left in the second half.

Wright said Clark could have reentered the game if needed, but he elected to keep him on the bench.

Senior Dwayne Anderson, who had soreness in his left foot after Tuesday night's win over Penn, was in uniform tonight but did not play.

Scottie Reynolds, who entered the game hitting just 34.3 percent of his shots from the field, went 8 of 13 tonight and established a season high with 23 points. Corey Stokes deposited six three-pointers in nine attempts and added 22.

The Wildcats took about six minutes to get into the game but once they did, they scored points in bunches. They ran off 15 consecutive points and held Houston Baptist without a field goal for a stretch of nearly six minutes to take a 30-9 lead with 8:48 to play.

Three consecutive three-point baskets by Andrew Puzyk reduced the deficit to 14 points and gave Wright something to get riled about, but the Wildcats outscored the Huskies by 16-4 the rest of the period to go into the locker room with a 48-22 lead.

The entire Villanova starting five scored eight points apiece in the first half, while the team shot 62.5 percent from the field.

A four-point play by Reynolds with 9:51 remaining enabled the Wildcats to more than double the Huskies' score, giving them a 69-33 lead.

The Huskies (0-7) were a successful NAIA team before deciding to step up to Division I beginning last year. They have a roster that includes nine transfer players, five of them from Division I schools.

Unfortunately, their relatively new status means they'll lead a nomadic existence this season, with only 20 of their 30 games away from home.

Baron Sauls, a senior who moved to the Huskies from Texas-Arlington, hit all six of his three-point tries in the second half and led his team with 22 points.