Villanova falls short again, is ousted from NCAA tourney

CLEVELAND - It was yet another installment, and, as it turns out, the final one of everything that went wrong for Villanova's basketball team in the second half of this season.

Particularly when it counted most, at the end of games. And so a club that went from 16-1 to what is thought to be the first ever to get into an NCAA Tournament having lost its final five has become only the third group of Wildcats to finish up with at least six consecutive losses.

Yesterday at the Quicken Loans Arena, in what was pretty much a repeat of the South Florida fiasco 10 days earlier in the Big East Tournament, they went home for good, because they couldn't hold a six-point lead in the closing 2 minutes against George Mason in an 8-9 East Regional, second-round matchup. Or even a one-point advantage in the last 31.7 seconds, after Corey Fisher went 3-for-3 at the foul line. But really, by this point why should anyone have expected the story line to unfold any differently?

Instead, it unraveled once again. And nobody could explain why. It simply happened, in slow motion, like a bad dream.

Luke Hancock shook Corey Stokes, Villanova's best on-the-ball defender, just long enough to launch a step-back trey from just right of straightaway that swished at 19.8. The Wildcats, out of timeouts, got a drive down the lane from Maalik Wayns, but his contested short leaner hit off the front of the rim. The Wildcats forced a jump ball on the rebound to retain possession under the basket. They swung it around to Corey Stokes in the left corner outside the arc. After dribbling around a defender, his baseline 15-footer glanced off the side of the backboard, which led to Mike Morrison's breakaway dunk at the buzzer.

Eighth-seeded George Mason advanced, 61-57. The Patriots (26-6), who won the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title, have won 17 of 18. They'll face top-seeded Ohio State (33-2) tomorrow. The Buckeyes held on to beat Texas-San Antonio by 29.

"Nobody wants to go out like this," said Fisher, one of three senior starters, who led the Wildcats with 20 points. "I wish it was different, but it is what it is. In life, things aren't always going to go your way. We gave everything we had, so we can live with that. That's part of being a basketball player . . .

"I don't have the answers. It's going to be hard [not having another college game]. That ain't hit me yet."

Last season, the Wildcats, coming off a Final Four, were 20-2 before fading down the stretch. They lost in the second round to 10th-seeded St. Mary's. This is the first time since 2007, when they dropped an 8-9 game to Kentucky, that they've gone one-and-done. It's also the first time since 2004 in this tournament that they won't be the last Big 5 team playing. If they had moved on, it would have been the first time since 2001 that two city schools had done so.

Two years ago, Jay Wright could have run for governor of the Main Line. Fairly or not, the perception has taken a hit.

"I know it's . . . even less than it was last year," said Wright, whose team lost 11 of its last 16 to finish 21-12. "This is who we are. You can't argue with our record. All the little things added up, and we've got to answer for it. Things aren't always going to be good. Sometimes, you have to deal with situations like this. We're not going to get to the Final Four every year, but we're going to try.

"I feel bad for the seniors. When it goes like this, I think people are going to look at it [in a negative] way. And you have to. No class has come here with more expectations. Maybe Randy Foye and those guys [who went to a Final Eight as seniors in 2006]. But they came when no one had done it before. I can't lie to you. We're disappointed. When you put yourself in that arena, you have to deal with [the expectations] . . .

"All I ever ask is that they give us their best effort. They did that for us. Did we make mistakes? Sure. It can go [the other way] like that. But we held together. Right now, though, it sucks. They're really dying."

And it's the kind of feeling that tends to linger through the offseason. Wright, of course, also made the Sweet 16 in 2005 and 2008, losing to the eventual national champion each time. So why does that suddenly seem so long ago?

"[These 4 years] went by fast," said Stokes, who scored 14, only three in the second half, on 15 shots. "I'm proud of our accomplishments. I just wish we could have went out a better way. It's just frustrating.

"We played hard. We played with pride. They can't take that away from us. There's nothing we can do about it. [George Mason] just made big plays."

And Villanova for the most part didn't. It's become a theme these last 6 weeks.

The Wildcats were ahead by as many as 10 after 16 minutes. They were still up six at intermission. George Mason got within one three times, including with 6 1/2 minutes to go. But it was 54-48 3 minutes later. The Wildcats had several chances to increase that margin, but couldn't, despite a couple of George Mason turnovers. Then a trey by Isaiah Tate cut it in half at 1:54. Eight seconds later, Antonio Pena, in his last game, missed two free throws. At 1:34, the Patriots got an old-fashioned three-point play from Ryan Pearson to tie things for the first time since 12-all. Mouphtaou Yarou missed the front end of a one-and-one at 1:13, and Morrison's follow flush put the Patriots up for the first time since 7-6.

You know the rest. These Wildcats have lost this game before.

"It's tough, but we did a lot of positive things, no matter whether we won or lost a game today," Fisher said. "And doing it with a bunch of guys I love and a father figure, especially Stokes and Tone, that I knew before I came here [from New York].

"What happened [in the past], that's never in our mind. That's weeks ago. And games ago. You can't be playing a game, out there competing, thinking about something else. You've got to have a clear mind, and that's something we did today."

Nevertheless, they scored only 22 in the second half, or two more than they did in blowing a 16-point halftime lead to USF. The offense reverted to being way too predictable. There was no inside game. The 'Cats shot 29.2 percent from the field in the second, 12 from the arc (1-for-8). That just isn't going to get it done, no matter how well you guard. And when it really was time to do that, they couldn't even get stops.

Yarou did have 13 rebounds, but 11 were in the first half. The bench contributed three points and three boards, all from Maurice Sutton, in 32 minutes.

Hancock had 18 for Mason, which held its own on the boards. Morrison and Tate added 10 apiece. The Pats went only 4-for-14 from three. But they drilled their last two. So what else will anyone remember?

"It [wasn't] out of lack of confidence," Wright tried to explain. "They believed, even coming out of the [final] huddle. You've got to play the hand that's dealt. And these guys had some really tough circumstances. I just love the way they handled it, right to the bitter end."

Well, it wasn't pleasant. And it is over. *