No Denying Villanova

Sean Marshall lay on the court with both arms outstretched in agony.

It seemed like so long ago that the Boston College forward had scored the game’s first seven points for the fourth-seeded Eagles, who looked like they would stomp undersized Villanova after jumping out to a 16-point lead in the first half.

Even when the top-seeded Wildcats clawed back to force overtime Friday night in the Minneapolis Regional semifinal at the Metrodome, Boston College still was primed for the upset. All the Eagles needed, up by a point with 3.5 seconds left, was a defensive stop to win the battle of former Big East Conference rivals.

That’s when Villanova guard Allan Ray, mired in a horrid shooting performance, set a screen that freed Will Sheridan for a wide-open layup on an inbounds play. Marshall and Sean Williams came over to contest the shot, but Williams was called for goaltending, prompting Marshall, a junior from Rialto Eisenhower High, to drop to the floor in anguish.

Given one last chance to seize a game that seemingly had been theirs for nearly 45 minutes, the Eagles worked the ball to guard Louis Hinnant, who dribbled frantically up the court before attempting a three-pointer that was well short at the final horn.

The Villanova reserves stormed the court in celebration of a 60-59 victory that propelled them to their first Elite Eight appearance since 1988, when they were coached by Rollie Massimino.

The Wildcats advanced to meet Florida in the regional final despite making only 35% of their shots. Sharpshooters Ray and Randy Foye were even worse, combining to make only 32.5% (13 of 40).

“The great teams find a way to win when your shots are not falling,” said Ray, who made only three of 15 shots. “As a team, that’s something we take pride in.”

Villanova (28-4) appeared to be in big trouble when it needed more than 15 minutes in the first half to reach double digits in scoring, but the Wildcats turned to a full-court press and forced six turnovers in the final 6:14 of the half. Going into the locker room, the Wildcats had pulled to within 28-24.

“I told my teammates to keep fighting because I knew if we lost it would be my last game,” said Foye, who finished with a game-high 29 points despite making only 10 of 25 shots. “I wanted to keep playing.”

The Wildcats missed four consecutive shots early in the second half that would have given them the lead and finally pushed ahead, 49-48, with 2:18 left on a pair of free throws by Foye.

Foye then rolled a shot into the basket on a spin move, giving Villanova a 51-48 lead that was erased with 28 seconds left when Eagle forward Jared Dudley sank a fadeaway three-pointer with Sheridan in his face.

“I contested it as best as I could and he made it,” Sheridan said. “It was a big-time shot.”

Villanova guard Kyle Lowry had a chance to end the game in regulation when he spotted up for what looked like an open three-pointer. But Williams, hurrying over from his spot inside the paint, went high to block the shot and force overtime.

Foye gave the Wildcats an early five-point cushion in the extra period on a three-pointer before Boston College (28-8) utilized its size advantage with baskets inside by Dudley and Craig Smith. Smith’s baby hook with 12 seconds left gave the Eagles a 59-58 lead that looked like it might hold up when Williams blocked a shot by Foye in the lane with 3.5 seconds remaining.

But that only set up the screen by Ray on an inbounds pass from Lowry.

“Allan set a screen for me, and [the defenders] both went for him,” Sheridan said. “I would have done the same thing.”

Marshall, who scored only two of his 12 points in the second half, lamented the fact that the Eagles finished with 21 turnovers, putting them in position to lose their big lead and then the game on the goaltending call.

“It was a tough call,” Marshall said. “But, I mean, there were tough calls all game -- both ways. We take care of what we have to do and we take the refs out of the game, and those close calls won’t be made.”