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Villanova shocks No. 2 Kansas

Nov 30, 2013 - 5:48 AM Nassau, Bahamas (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Arcidiacono came into Friday shooting 5-of-24 from 3-point range.

He was encouraged to keep shooting.

The sophomore guard hit the biggest shot of his collegiate career as Villanova shocked No. 2 Kansas, 63-59, in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.

Arcidiacono received an inbounds pass and drained the go-ahead 3-point shot from left wing over Perry Ellis with 10.1 seconds left to boost the Wildcats (6-0) to the stunning victory.

Villanova, which will take on 23rd-ranked Iowa in the championship game of the tournament Saturday, wasted a double-digit lead in the second half.

Frank Mason's spinning move to the hoop resulted in a 3-point play to give the Jayhawks (5-1) a 59-58 edge with 34.2 seconds left. The Wildcats then nearly turned the ball over when Darrun Hilliard nearly had the ball stolen from him by Andrew Wiggins.

Villanova retained possession with 12.4 seconds left to set up the go-ahead shot.

Mason's 3-point try at the other end was off the mark and James Bell swooped in for the rebound, and sealed the outcome by sinking two free throws with 2.7 seconds left.

Hilliard and Dylan Ennis each had 14 points for Villanova, while JayVaughn Pinkston totaled 13 points.

Mason scored 12 points and Ellis had 11. Wiggins and Joel Embiid each had 10 points for the Jayhawks, who will play UTEP in the third-place game.

Despite shooting 8-of-28 from the field in the opening 20 minutes, Villanova led by as many as 10 points. That's because the Jayhawks struggled to find the hoop as evidenced by a 6-of-25 effort in the opening frame.

The Wildcats went on an 18-3 spurt in the first half, during which time the Jayhawks' only bucket came from Wiggins at the 8:01 mark. Arcidiacono's 1-of-2 performance from the foul line capped a run of 12 straight Villanova points for a 29-19 difference with 2:26 remaining.

Kansas then scored the final three points of the half, but Villanova stretched its lead to 48-36 with 12:44 left on an Ennis 3-pointer.

The Jayhawks later scored 10 in a row to get within 57-56 with 2:43 left on Mason's layup. Pinkston countered with a 1-of-2 showing at the charity stripe to set up the dramatic finish.

Game Notes

Kansas leads the all-time series, 3-2 ... Villanova ended shooting 34.6 percent, while Kansas was at 38.9 percent ... Arcidiacono was 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.