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Fisher, Villanova down DePaul in OT

Feb 20, 2011 - 1:06 AM Rosemont, IL (Sports Network) - Corey Fisher scored 29 of his career-high 34 points after halftime, including a game-tying three-pointer with six seconds remaining in regulation, to help 15th-ranked Villanova eke out a 77-75 overtime victory against DePaul at Allstate Arena.

Fisher made 11-of-18 shots and grabbed five rebounds for the Wildcats (21-6, 9-5 Big East), who have won four of their last six games. Mouphtaou Yarou posted a double-double with 15 boards and 12 points, while Maalik Wayns finished with 17 points and four steals.

"I was just trying to make plays on defense," Fisher said. "We weren't worried too much about offense. We were just trying to play hard. In the huddle, coaches kept telling us to grind it out."

Jeremiah Kelly had 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting from three-point range to pace the Blue Demons (7-19, 1-13), who snapped a 12-game losing streak Thursday at Providence.

"I thought the guys played well enough to win tonight, but I still think we're our very best," said DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell. "We have to improve in certain areas cause our inexperience showed there toward the end."

Down 50-47, the Wildcats netted eight consecutive points. Wayns sank two free throws before slicing through the defense and converting a layup. Antonio Pena then grabbed a miss by Fisher and hit the putback, and Dominic Cheek's pair from the charity stripe finished the run with 3:18 left.

DePaul tied the game at 55 on a Kelly three-pointer and free throws by Cleveland Melvin and Tony Freeland.

Kelly nailed another shot from beyond the arc and Moses Morgan made two foul shots to give the home team a 62-59 lead with 13.5 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, Fisher came off a screen and drained a three-pointer to force overtime.

Fisher was fouled on a layup, and his free throw put Villanova up 70-65 midway through the extra session. Wayns buried his own miss and the Wildcats led 74-70 after a thunderous dunk by Yarou with 31.2 seconds remaining. Brandon Young quickly followed with a three-pointer for DePaul, but Fisher sealed the win at the foul line.

Villanova scored 11 of the game's first 15 points, and led 14-9 after Wayns made 1-of-2 free throws.

The Blue Demons, who halted a 25-game losing streak against conference opponents as well as a 29-game slide on the road Thursday, responded by going on an 11-0 surge, with Morgan's three-pointer capping the run for a 20-14 lead with about 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the opening frame.

Jimmy Drew knocked down a trey to put DePaul up 27-20, but baskets from Yarou and Isaiah Armwood trimmed the Wildcats' deficit to three at the break.

The Blue Demons pushed their lead back to seven early in the second half before Villanova countered with a 9-0 burst -- eight points by Fisher -- to regain the lead at 40-38.

Game Notes

Pena had six points and six rebounds for Villanova, which shot 40 percent from the field and held a 50-36 edge on the glass...Melvin and Morgan notched 16 and 15 points, respectively...DePaul made 13-of-30 three-pointers and shot 41.5 percent overall.