Yarou, Wayns lead Villanova's blowout win

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Incremental, steady progress continues to define the ongoing project known as Villanova men's basketball.

The Wildcats began the 76 Classic with their fourth consecutive victory, a 71-46 rout of UC Riverside yesterday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Villanova (4-0) faces its biggest test so far in today's semifinals against Saint Louis, which also remains unbeaten after four games following a 62-51 win over Boston College.

"We had struggled against teams that had good, quick guards," said Wildcats coach Jay Wright, who earned his 350th career victory.

But Mouphtaou Yarou led a first-half rally, then Maalik Wayns took over in the second half. Wayns finished with season highs of 23 points and seven assists. Yarou added 11 points, 10 rebounds and three steals.

UC Riverside (1-3), which has only one winning season in the past decade, exploited the 'Cats' early tendency to overdose on outside shots and took a 9-3 lead in the first 3 minutes, 12 seconds.

James Bell picked up two fouls in that time, while Villanova missed nine of its first 11 shots. Then Yarou went to work. The 6-10 center scored seven points, grabbed two rebounds and made a pair of steals during a 16-0 blitz that put the 'Cats ahead, 28-14, with 2:40 left in the first half. Riverside failed to score for a span of 7:25.

Yarou did more than compile statistics. On one of Riverside's possessions during the 'Cats' surge, he drew a charging foul. On another, after getting a rebound, Yarou was about to fall out of bounds but bounced the ball off one of Riverside's players to help Villanova maintain possession.

"His intensity was really valuable," Wright said. "It wasn't just a matter of posting up but of getting offensive rebounds. It's a weapon we haven't had in a while. That got us going."

Yarou agreed.

"I really think I got my team going on defense," Yarou said. "Everybody stepped up on defense. We kept going, kept going and wore them out."

Yarou also impressed Highlanders coach Jim Wooldridge.

"Their post player was a real load," Wooldridge said of the 255-pound Yarou. "We essentially had to drop another player around him, and that hurt us on pick-and-roll defense."

With Yarou facing double-teams in the second half, Wayns had the space to maneuver. The junior made eight of 14 shots from the floor in scoring 19 second-half points, as the 'Cats extended their advantage to a game-high 27 points.

"We did a little better with a lead," Wright said. "We had a couple of games where we had a lead at halftime and didn't build on it. But we started great in the second half. That showed me something."

Wooldridge was more emphatic.

"It was an avalanche," Wooldridge said. "You can make all the adjustments you want but if you're not scoring, it feels like an avalanche."

Bell and Darrun Hilliard each added 12 points for 'Nova. Daymond Cowlah led Riverside with 10 points.