• Box Score

PHILADELPHIA (Nov. 8, 2011) - NYIT men's basketball took to the court Tuesday night to face Villanova in a cross-division exhibition game at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Bears faced a hard-fought 91-58 loss in their final tune-up of the preseason. 

Junior Dominic Scurry (Ozone Park, N.Y.) and redshirt freshman Jahleel Felix (Flushing, N.Y.) led the Bears with 10 points each. Antoine Brown (Washington, D.C.) went 3-for-6 from the field with all three baskets coming from behind the arc. NYIT out-shot Villanova 30% to 24% from three-point range, while the Wildcats held a 75% to 50% free throw shooting edge.

The Bears struggled to get on the scoreboard at the Wildcats opened with a 6-0 run. Junior Azel Prather Jr. (Glenarden, Md.) broke through the silence for NYIT with a layup. Yet, NYIT would eventually trail 22-3 after the second media timeout at 11:40. Back-to-back three pointers by NYIT's Brown ended the first half 46-28 in favor of Villanova.  

NYIT came out strong in the second half and held Villanova scoreless for two minutes. During that time the Bears closed the gap to within 14-points 46-32 on baskets by Felix and Scurry. Yet, the Wildcats regained possession and pushed to a 64-36 advantage with 13:53 remaining in the half. David Naves (Bowie, Md.) ended the Bears drought at 13:11 and then Jahari McKnight knocked down his second try of the night at 12:13 to make the score 64-41. 

The Bears played scrappy defense to hold the Wildcats scoreless for three and a half minutes but two made free shots gave Villanova a 66-41 advantage with 10:33 to play. In return, Villanova went on a 9-4 run to claim a 30-point lead 75-45 with 7:53 to go. NYIT made a well-played push towards the end on points from Scurry, Prather, Felix, and Nick Fessenden (Greenlawn, N.Y.), but Villanova won with a final score of 91-58.

NYIT opens the 2011-2012 regular-season on Friday, Nov. 11 when the Bears host the Yellow Jackets of American International. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Recreation Hall.