The Villanova Wildcats turned a one point halftime deficit into a convincing 19 point victory over Syracuse, defeating the Orange 82-63 in Big East Tournament action. The first half was sloppy, and the Wildcats stayed in the game with offensive rebounding and closed the half on an eight point run. Scottie Reynolds led all scorers with 22 points, 15 coming after the break, as the Wildcats exploded with 55 points in the second half.

The turning point in the game happened with under 10 minutes left in the game. Syracuse’s Donte Greene made a three to cut the Wildcats’ lead to seven, and after Arinze Onuaku secured a rebound, Syracuse looked as though they might start a comeback. However, Onuaku was whistled for an offensive foul, and on the following play, Dwayne Anderson made a three to push the Villanova lead back up to 10. The lead was never smaller than 10 after that point.

Syracuse freshmen Greene and Jonny Flynn had 17 and 16 points, respectively, but the Orange ran out of gas down the stretch. The loss severely hurts Syracuse’s chances of making the Big Dance, and while Villanova may still be on the outside looking in, they control their own fate. The Wildcats take on the Hoyas tomorrow at noon.