VPS Wildcat cagers
foiled by Lancers
By Jesse Phelps

The Villanova Wildcat boys' basketball squad hosted a non-league game with a powerful Bishop Amat team on Tuesday evening, and though they came out on the short end of the stick, they looked like a team on a mission.

Wildcat point guard Clark Tevis looked like a whole new player, scoring 18 points to lead his team in its loss to the Lancers, 68-46. Villanova (4-3) used a trap and a half-court zone defense to frustrate the Bishop Amat (3-10) shooters during the first half and went into the locker room trailing by just five points.

Tevis scored 14 of his team-high total during the first half on a variety of swooping lay-ups and midrange jumpers that had the home crowd gasping and cheering.

He said he worked hard during the off-season to develop more weapons. "I practiced with my left hand a lot," he said. "Not too many point guards in high school can dribble with both hands."
Unfortunately for the Wildcat faithful, the home team lost its shooting touch in the second half and Bishop went on a 15-2 run to end the game. The last minute and a half saw both clubs empty their benches.

Aaron Harter led the Wildcats on the block, scoring 11 points and grabbing a team-high 15 rebounds. He was the only presence Villanova had on the boards and the visitors hit the glass hard, scoring a total of 22 second-chance points.

James Jolicoeur led the Lancers with 22 points, often on putbacks or free throws gained after offensive rebounds.

Villanova gave up a 3-pointer to start the game and then another bucket. Harter then nailed his only 3 of the game to pull Villanova within a hoop. Minutes later, Jolicoeur's 3-point play off an offensive rebound put Villanova in a five-point hole.

From there, the two teams traded hoops, Tevis scoring the last five points of the quarter for the Wildcats to keep the deficit at six heading into the second period.

Tevis came up big on the defensive end to start the second, drawing a charge to keep the momentum in Villanova's court. Harter scored off the Wildcats' second offensive rebound of the game midway through the period. Two possessions later, Adrian Gutierrez got a steal at mid-court and took it all the way to pull Villanova within six again.

Anthony Huntley, who nailed a pair of treys, hit his first of the game to increase the lead, but the Wildcats finished the half strong.
Mac Oroke's steal and three-point play narrowed the halftime deficit to just five at 41-36.

For the half, Villanova connected on 12 of 25 shots to keep themselves in the ball game with the high-flying, but young, Lancer squad.

Coach Nate Nylander said he was proud of his team's effort, minus three starters, against a heavily favored Bishop team. "We were definitely happy with the effort," he said. "All the kids stepped up."

Nylander credited Tevis, especially, for raising his game. "He's definitely the heart and soul of our team," said Nylander. "He's kind of like our coach on the floor and Harter leaves it all out there on the floor as well. They're the cornerstones."

Tevis said his team learned something in its matchup with Bishop. "If we keep up the intensity all game long, we can hang with just about anybody," he said. "We realize that (Bishop) is a big school. If we go out and play our hardest, we don't have anything to lose."

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

Back to sports

Back to the news