Rangers dodge Wildcats
By Jesse Phelps

If Ben Bower hadn't come back from his flu bug in time for the Villanova game, Nordhoff might not have survived its short trip down the highway on Wednesday night. Bower made all three of Nordhoff's second half field goals as the Rangers escaped with a narrow 45-40 victory over homestanding Villanova.
Nursing a lead that never stretched beyond nine points in the second half, the Rangers relied on rebounding, physical play and the occasional zone trap to force Villanova into tough interior shots, three-pointers and a few bad passes. 'Nova had 14 turnovers on the night and was most successful when it got the ball into the big and capable hands of Djadji Daffe.
Nordhoff had no answer but to stand in and battle with Daffe but paid the price for doing so. Center T.J. Murphy fouled out and power forward A.J. Maulhardt found himself on the bench battling foul trouble much of the night. Worse still for Maulhardt, the defense of Nate Langelier kept his shot off the mark. Langelier had two spectacular pace-setting blocks in the first quarter and finished with four on the evening.
Daffe had 23 points and eight rebounds, four offensive, and even did damage from the outside, drilling a trio of three-point shots, including one to pull 'Nova within a hoop with about a minute to play.
From there, Nordhoff guard Garrett Stroup took over. He directed traffic and allowed time to wane, then drew two fouls and made three of four free throws in the final minute to seal the game. Villanova hit five treys on the night, but none in the final seconds when they needed one.
Still, Nordhoff never would have been in position to win the game themselves if not for the presence of Bower. He made three of four field goal attempts in the second half. His teammates were a combined zero for 22 during that same span. Nordhoff went the entire third quarter and nearly a minute into the fourth before Bower drained the first of his, and his team's, three fourth quarter buckets.
Bower finished with seven rebounds and 16 points, nine of which came in the first half, when he was again Nordhoff's best offensive option. Mike Bensley drilled a pair of threes early on and Stroup had his usual all-around game statistically. Maulhardt grabbed eight rebounds to go with four points.
For Villanova, Daffe was the story offensively. Guards Clark Tevis and Ryan Kirby each hit big threes, but in the end, Bower and Stroup proved to be too much for the Wildcats.
The Rangers next play at San Marcos Monday at 7 p.m. and Villanova takes on Cate today at 6 p.m.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

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