Wildcats Drop Regular Season Finale

Wildcats drop regular-season finale, 54-52. Despite falling behind, 38-21 at the half, the Villanova Wildcats (16-5) had a chance to pull off the comeback over the Providence Friars (13-12). In what was essentially a meaningless game, Villanova was in a position to pull off the upset.

Nova tied it at 52-52 with 15.8 seconds remaining, The Friars pushed it to 54-52. One final chance remained and Eric Dixon fired three lengths of the floor inbound pass to Jeremiah Robison-Earl who put up a three-pointer that clanged off the rim as time elapsed.

“We’ve had teams where you miss the layups, you miss the free throws, but you find a way at the end,” Wright said. “We get a rebound there at the end, we force a miss and we don’t get the rebound. We would have had the last shot of the game. They’re the little things that bother us.”

.@J_Swizz23 with the strong drive! pic.twitter.com/Jqde42ISUP
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) March 6, 2021

One of the issues of playing a “meaningless” game is the risk of injury. With playmaker, Collin Gillespie sitting on the bench with a bulky brace, the last thing the Wildcats needed was another injury and especially not one to another guard.

Justin Moore suffered what was termed a “sprained ankle” and was forced to leave the proceedings. Two injured guards and a four-game road losing streak is certainly not the way you want to enter the tournament. Robinson-Earl, despite his miss, scored 11 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Jermaine Samuels led the visitors with 21 points. For Providence, Nate Watson drained 14 first-half points and 20 for the game.

David Duke matched the 20 point performance. Villanova waits to see who they play to open the Tournament on Thursday. Wildcats drop regular-season finale, 54-52.

Kevin Neibauer

Kevin has followed and promoted the game of lacrosse since May 19, 1974.
The same day the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup, the Philadelphia Wings were introduced to Neibauer and Philadelphia.

Kevin has covered many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and.. lacrosse. A former licensed football referee and baseball umpire, Kevin brings a unique insight to his game coverage.

A published writer in JustHockey Magazine, Kevin covered the American Hockey League as well as a monthly story on a pugilist where Kevin used the pen name, The Rink Rat. Neibauer turned his attentions to lacrosse for a few years and does his part, whether podcasting or writing to grow the game. Kevin branched out to his roots and currently provides insight for all Philadelphia teams for Edge of Philly as well as his full-time duties with LaxPhilly.