Georgia Beats Villanova 87-54 To Close EuroJam 2011

It wasn't a pretty ending to EuroJam 2011 for the Villanova Wildcats, as they were crushed by Georgia 87-54 to close out the round-robin tournament. There were few bright spots in this game for 'Nova, with Dominic Cheek leading the way with 14 points, while Maalik Wayns and Mouphtaou Yarou added 9 apiece.

This appears to be a throwaway game for 'Nova, as Jay Wright ensured that no player played more than 25 minutes. It looks like he wanted to use a deep-rotation to see what he had from everyone. Achraf Yacoubou and JayVaughn Pinkston took advantage of the added minutes, with Ash scoring 8 points and JVP notching 7 points and 6 rebounds.

Foul trouble once again plagued 'Nova with Wayns, Yarou and Isaiah Armwood all finding the bench in the 2nd quarter as Georgia pulled away. Jay Wright thought this was the stiffest test of the trip.

"This Georgia team was the best team we faced on this trip. They have great shooters and are well-coached. It's a good team with a great player in Zaza Pachulia."

More quotes from Wright and the box score after The Jump.

Jay Wright

"This trip worked out perfectly for us. We played the best team in the end and every team we played as we went along was a little bit better than the last. I felt we got a little bit better and the important thing was we learned a lot about ourselves. We played everybody today and treated this one a little bit more like practice to give people a chance. We got a lot of teaching in and a lot of bonding over here. It was a great experience in some big-time games."

"One of the things you see with these professional teams is that we came in all excited and got off to good starts. By the end of the game we were exhausted. At the start these teams look like they aren't sharp but by the end of the game they're killers. I think that's the experience of being professionals."

"I wouldn't have done this trip any other way."

Box Score (Minutes in parantheses)

WAYNS (24:00): 2-11 from the field; 1-4 from 3-point; 4-4 FT shooting; 1 rebounds (1 offensive); 1 steal; 3 turnovers; 9 points.

YAROU (26:19): 2-7 from the field; 0-1 from 3-point; 5-9 FT shooting; 12 rebounds (3 offensive); 2 turnovers; 9 points.

CHEEK (23:45): 5-13 from the field; 2-4 from 3-point; 2-4 FT shooting; 2 rebounds (1 offensive); 1 steal; 0 turnovers; 14 points. BELL (21:41): 0-7 from the field; 0-2 from 3-point; 0-0 FT shooting; 4 rebounds (2 offensive); 0 turnovers; 0 points.

ARMWOOD (13:15): 1-5 from the field; 0-1 from 3-point; 0-0 FT shooting; 1 rebound (0 offensive); 2 points.

HILLIARD (20:36): 0-1 from the field; 0-0 from 3-point; 0-2 FT shooting; 5 rebounds (0 offensive); 1 assist; 4 turnovers; 0 points.

KENNEDY (19:23): 1-5 from the field; 0-0 from 3-point; 0-0 FT shooting; 1 rebound (0 offensive); 1 turnover; 2 points.

PINKSTON (20:52): 3-5 from the field; 0-0 from 3-point; 1-3 FT shooting; 6 rebounds (2 offensive); 2 assists; 1 turnover; 7 points.

YACOUBOU (22:04): 3-8 from the field; 1-1 from 3-point; 1-2 FT shooting; 4 rebounds (1 offensive); 1 turnover; 0 points.

SUTTON (08:59): 0-2 from the field; 0-0 from 3-point; 3-6 FT shooting; 3 rebounds; 1 turnover; 3 points.

Villanova Totals: 17-of-64 FG (.266); 4-of-13 from 3-point (.308); 16-of-30 FT shooting (.577); 41 rebounds (10 offensive); 5 assists; 15 turnovers; 4 steals; 1 blocked shot; 54 points.

Georgia Totals: 31-of-69 FG (.449); 10-of-32 from 3-point (.313); 15-of-26 FT shooting (.577); 43 rebounds (8 offensive); 14 assists; 12 turnovers; 6 steals; 2 blocked shots; 87 points.