BIG FIVE SKINNY

By Matt Mattare

Villanova 59

St. Joe’s 56

The old cliché is that you can “throw out the records” when it comes to rivalry games and I suppose this game would qualify for that. The Hawks looked poised for a big-time upset tonight at The Pavilion, but when push came to shove Scottie Reynolds just would not allow Villanova to lose. In the second half he was involved in every Wildcat field goal but two (whether it be with an assist or bucket), finished with 18 points and 8 assists, and led Nova to a three point victory.

There was just recently an article posted on ESPN.com that labeled Reynolds as someone who has been a disappointment since his freshman year and claim he’s dropped from a projected first rounder to maybe not even being drafted. I would argue that this performance showed that Villanova will be dangerous come March because of him. He also provides a perfect contrast to St. Joe’s star Ahmad Nivins. Both stars are capable, but only Scottie goes out and takes control of the game when his team needs him to answer the bell. He’s trying to adapt and become a more efficient game manager at the point guard position, but he’s still a microwave type scorer when he needs to be.

At the same time you have to tip your cap to the Hawks for taking the #12 team in the nation to the brink. This is a team that I was totally unimpressed with in person, but once again Phil Martelli showed how he is capable of maximizing the talent he has to be competitive at even the highest level. The Hawks become a totally different team when Darrin Govens is making shots from outside—he frees up room for Ahmad Nivins to operate and gives the defense something to think about other than sagging and collapsing on big #34.

For all my criticism of Nivins I have to say he’s still a very solid big man. He goes to work, gets his 20 points and 10 boards (tonight he was a little below his averages with 16 and 8), and makes his presence known on the defensive end (just check the SportsCenter Top 10 tonight and you'll know why)...but it’s easy to see the potential he has to be great and I feel like it’s time for the senior to make that jump to a dominant force in a mediocre league like the Atlantic 10. In order for this team to play at a level high enough to contend for an NCAA berth Martelli needs to find a way to get Nivins to be more assertive.

In the end it’s a good, hard fought victory for Nova. On the flip side this could have been a huge non-conference W to throw on the resume for the Hawks but they just couldn’t put it away. Unfortunately the tournament committee doesn’t consider moral victories when plugging teams into the brackets.