Europe 2011 -- Villanova Loses to Senegal 69-64

The Villanova Wildcats opened their summer playing tour in Europe with a loss to the #36 ranked (FIBA) Senegal National Team, 69-64 in a game played in suburban Paris tonight. Leading by one to open the fourth period (the Wildcats are playing by FIBA rules during their tour) 50-49, the 'Cats could not hold on through the last 10 minutes. The Senegalese staged a 20-14 comeback (they led by five, 23-18 at the end of the 1st period, and by one, 35-34 at the end of the 1st half) in the 4th period to seal the Wildcats' fate. Rising junior Dominic Cheek paced the 'Cats with 17 points on 7-12 (3-6, 4-6) shooting from the field. Classmates Mouphtaou Yarou logged a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds and Maalik Wayns scored 16 points. A very incomplete box score for Villanova...

	Pts	Reb
Maalik Waynes	16	6
Dominic Cheek	17
Mouphtaou Yarou	15	16
Darrun Hilliard	3	?
James Bell	6	5
Achraf Yacoubou	4+	?
Markus Kennedy	?	5
Isaiah Armwood	?	8
Jayvaughn Pinkston	?	4

With the two teams combining for 66 total free throw attempts (Senegal was 26-40, the 'Cats 14-26), Coach Wright's assessment, "It was very physical. It felt like we were in a Big East game." was on the mark. Other tidbits...
1. Villanova out rebounded Senegal 51 to 44. 44 rebounds (see above) are accounted for, the others most likely belong to some combination of Hilliard, Yacoubou and Cheek (and anyone else who logged minutes).
2. The 'Cats shot 3-16 from beyond the arc. Cheek was the only Villanovan to connect.
3. Scoring by period...

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Gm
Villanova	18	16	16	14	64
Senegal	23	12	14	20	69

Next
Senegal again. The team will take a rematch with he Senegalese. Hopefully a rested and refocused Wildcat squad can register a better result.

Further Reading
So far I have only found two sources (message boards aside)...
The official recap can be found at the Villanova website.
Joe Juliani from the Inky penned recap at philly.com