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They just took a step back and kept firing.
By the time Villanova coach Jay Wright called off the ’Cats and pulled Ray, Foye and fellow guard Mike Nardi with 6 minutes, 34 seconds to go in an 84-47 romp over Lehigh at the Pavilion, the Villanova record book, at least the section for 3-point field goals made and attempted, was in shambles and Wright had the 200th victory of his coaching career.
The only mark the Wildcats did not smash was the team record for 3-pointers attempted in a game (38). The ’Cats came close with 33 tries. Everything else, though, goes down as a new entry.
Start with the individual school record for 3-pointers made and attempted in a game. Ray owns both of those marks thanks to an impressive 8-for-16 performance from beyond the arc.
That’s one more made long-ball than former record-holders Eric Eberz, Chris Walker and Doug West, and two more tries than the 14 Kerry Kittles launched up against La Salle in 1994.
Fittingly, the record-breaker, both for Ray and the Wildcats, came on a 25-footer right in front of the Villanova bench with 6 minutes, 38 seconds to play in the game. Ray gave a little fist pump before Wright called a timeout and took Ray, Foye and Nardi out of the game.
Ray finished 9-for-18 overall and led all scorers with 26 points. He also found time to grab five rebounds and hand out three assists.
"Usually, if I get a wide open shot in the beginning it pretty much gets me into a rhythm," Ray said. "I don’t think I was in a rhythm. I would make one, then miss three, make another one and miss four."
"You didn’t miss that many, that’s seven," Wright interjected.
"I’m just saying that teammates had the confidence in me to shoot and coach definitely has the confidence in me so I just kept shooting," Ray said.
Foye had it going, too. The 6-4 senior guard shot 5-for-8 from beyond the arc and 7-for-14 overall to finish with 21 points. He also had five assists and three boards.
Foye did most of his damage in the first half as the Wildcats raced out to a 47-25 lead. He was especially deadly in a 6:05 stretch of the opening 20 minutes in which he hit three of his five 3-pointers and scored 13 of 17 Villanova points as the Wildcats turned an 8-4 lead into a commanding 25-10 advantage.
For a shooter, there is no greater feeling than being in a zone as Foye was at that point in the game.
"It’s a lot fun because the ball is getting swung to you, you’re feeling it and the rim looks like an ocean and you’re just shooting it," Foye said. "My teammates were finding me in the right spots and I was taking the right shots."
Almost lost in the incredible shooting display put on by Ray and Foye was the performance of Nardi and fellow guard Kyle Lowry.
Without Nardi’s four threes, the team mark would still be 16 in a game. Nardi was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and 5-for-7 overall. He scored 14 points and dished out four assists in just 24 minutes.
Lowry, meanwhile, came three rebounds and three assists shy of a triple double. He finished with 12 points, seven boards and seven assists.
"That’s a great accomplishment for Allan and for our team," Wright said. "We have a good shooting team and I think Lehigh was smart. They played zone. They didn’t want to get out and extend the floor. I’m sure they were trying to control the tempo. They’re a pretty good team and we played well. I’m happy with the way we played."
NOTES: Center/forward Chris Charles returned to the lineup after missing nearly a month following surgery on his left hand. He played 10 minutes, scored two points and pulled down two rebounds ..Junior forward Will "Bump" Sheridan did not score, but he had two tremendous blocked shots ..The Wildcats committed just six turnovers in the game ..Villanova takes on Rider Wednesday at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton and returns hope for a showdown with fifth-ranked Oklahoma at the Pavilion Saturday night.
