VILLANOVA, Pa. -- After shooting lights out three days ago, the Cavaliers couldn't flip the switch back on Saturday, as a poor shooting performance led to a 73-63 defeat at the hands of Villanova in the second round of the NIT.
While Virginia connected on 13 three-pointers Wednesday night against George Washington, they connected on just one of 10 attempts from beyond the arc against Villanova.
"We didn't have a great game -- we weren't sharp," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We were tired. We didn't have the gas we needed. The effort and dedication were there, but the execution and the legs weren't."
Although poor shooting was crippling to Virginia's attempts at getting the road victory, the real tale of the game was in the guard play, where Virginia's starters, T.J. Bannister, Todd Billet, and J.R. Reynolds, were outmatched by the Villanova trio of Randy Foye, Mike Nadri and Allan Ray.
"They have some good guards," Virginia forward Elton Brown said. "They hit big shots whenever we tried to make a run."
The Wildcat triumvirate combined for 58 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, while holding the three Virginia starting guards to a total of 12 points, three rebounds and five assists.
"We felt that Billet and Reynolds could bust open a game," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "That was a big concern. Our guards chased them around all game."
For the Wildcats, it was mission accomplished, as Billet went 0-6 from the field, marking the first time Billet has been held scoreless in his two years with Virginia. Reynolds, who had averaged 18.3 points in Virginia's three previous post-season games, was held to just eight points, all in the first half, on two-of-seven shooting.
Despite the disparity in the backcourt, the Cavaliers found themselves in the game late with a chance to pull out the come-from-behind win. Once down by as many as 17 in the second half, Virginia cut the lead to 63-59 with 1:51 left on a Brown layup. Yet their comeback efforts were silenced by an off-balanced jumper in the paint from Foye as the shot clock wound down, giving the Wildcats a 65-59 advantage with 1:12 left.
"It was a game we should've won but we didn't," Brown said. "We beat ourselves."
Virginia misfired on eight pivotal free throws in the second half and allowed 16 offensive rebounds on their way to being out-rebounded 44-31.
Virginia was led by 19 points from freshman guard Gary Forbes. In his 28 minutes of action, Forbes shot eight for 11 from the field. The 19 points by Forbes marked his highest scoring output since his 22 points on Dec. 3 against Minnesota.
Brown was the only other Cavalier to reach double figures, scoring 13 points on just 4-for-12 shooting. Brown was held scoreless in the first half and saw many of his minutes go to freshman forward Donte Minter (8 points, 5 rebounds) who proved to be more effective scoring in the post than the volatile junior forward.
The Cavaliers were dealt a big blow to end the first half. Coming out of a timeout, the Cavaliers had the opportunity to head into the locker room down by just four points. A deflection and a loose-ball scramble led to an Allan Ray three-pointer that upped the Wildcat lead to nine at the end of the first half.
"That was an important part of the game," Wright said. "Scramble, loose ball, we got it and made it happen."
The game marked yet another DNP in the box score for junior forward Devin Smith. Despite playing in close proximity to his hometown of New Castle, Del., Smith reported to Gillen that his back was giving him too much trouble to play.
"His back was hurting him too much," Gillen said. "He's our best player, so it hurts us not having him out there. Devin's sacrifice and play is a microcosm of our team's character and courage."
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