Jersey Boys Lead Nova Past Rutgers

Three former New Jersey high school stars led Villanova in a 94-68 rout over Rutgers at the RAC. Rutgers was never in this game, and at 0-6 in the Big East, they might pull a "Conan O'Brien" on Fred Hill before the season's over. The lone bright spot for the Scarlet Knights was freshman Dane Miller who had 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Dominic Cheek - embarrassed former St. Anthony teammate Mike Rosario (1-8, 3 points) by scoring a career high 17 points. He showed his versatility by taking it strong to the basket and knocking down two 3-pointers.

Corey Stokes - was locked in from long range, knocking down four triples for 16 points. He seems to have broken out of whatever shooting slump he was in.

Corey Fisher - The former New Jersey High School Player of the Year had 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. I think all six of his field goals were scored in the paint. In classic Fisher Price fashion, he used a fake pass to toy with defenders while he went up for a layup.

Scottie Reynolds - It's either a really good or really bad sign when Scottie Reynolds and Isaiah Armwood score the same amount of points (9). In this case it was good. Nova's scoring was balanced, and the game was out of hand so quickly that the Cats didn't even need Big Shot Scott in this one.

Isaiah Armwood - was impressive in the first half, where he scored all nine of his points. He threw down a thunderous dunk, and with Armwood's athleticism, Fisher and the guards should be looking his way for alley-oops at least twice a game.

Maalik Wayns - like Fisher, Wayns cut through Rutgers' defense like it wasn't even there. He also tied a season-high with 4 assists.

Mouph Yarou - had 9 rebounds, but he looked lost on the offensive end. Whenever he got the ball deep in the post, he either traveled, stepped out of bounds, or committed an offensive foul. He seems more comfortable pulling up for the mid-range jumper, than taking it strong to the basket, which is not what I want to see from my power forward/center. I'll cut him some slack though, since he is still recovering from Hepatitis.

Reggie Redding - had 5 points and 5 rebounds. Like Reynolds, he wasn't really needed as Jay gave the youngsters lots of run.

Antonio Pena - co-led with Yarou for a game-high 9 rebounds, but picked up 4 personal fouls in only 15 minutes. Hamady Ndiaye (say that name five times fast) seemed to be giving him and Yarou fits inside. Ndiaye is the other bright spot for Rutgers this season, as he's third in the nation in blocked shots, and he had 5 swats in this game.

Taylor King - like Pena, King ran into some foul trouble, picking up 4 in just 12 minutes, limiting him to 5 points.

Maurice Sutton - had a block and a couple of rebounds in six minutes.

Russell Wooten - had his name chanted from up in the rafters of the RAC as he got into the final minute of the game.