MONACA, PA – The #1 Villa Maria Vikings used a big second half to take down #20 Penn State Fayette 108-88 on Saturday afternoon on the second day of the Penn State Beaver Holiday Classic.  After a sluggish start, Villa found it's stride in the second half, shooting 67 percent over the final 20 minutes to pull away from Fayette and pick up it's sixth straight win.

Neither team led by more than six in the first half as Villa shot just 44.7 percent from the floor over that time.  The Vikings pushed their lead to eight in the early stages of the second half until they gained their first double-digit lead of the game with 9:34 when junior Dominic Douglas (Bainbridge, GA/Bainbridge High School) knocked down a jumper for two of his 21 second half points and game-high 28 points.  Villa pushed the lead to 14 moments later after five straight defensive stops.

Fayette once again got with six moments later with a 8-0 run but the Vikings responded with six points from Douglas to pump the lead back to 10.  Junior Jay Scarbrough (Niagara Falls, NY/Cayuga Community College) followed with a floater in the lane which propelled him to score six straight as well.  Scarbrough finished with a loaded stat-line, scoring 24 points to go along with eight steals, seven assists and seven rebounds.

Five players scored in double figures for Villa with Douglas and Scarbrough leading the way with 28 and 24 respectively.  Junior DeJaun Owens (Buffalo, NY/Tapestry Charter School) scored 20 for the second straight game and was 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.  Senior Justin Stokes (Buffalo, NY/Middle Early College) netted 14 points and added nine assists while freshman Lonnie Taylor (Medina, NY/Medina High School) finished with his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Kevin Ford (Buffalo, NY/Amherst High School) gave the Vikings outstanding minutes off the bench, leading the team on both ends of the floor.  He finished with five points, five assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block in 23 minutes.
 
BOX SCORE
Villa Maria (11-1, 3-0 NIAC)                                 42 – 66 – 108
Penn State Fayette (5-5, 3-2 PSUAC)                 38 – 50 – 88
 
INSIDE THE BOX
* The Vikings had 29 assists on 41 made baskets
* Villa outscored Fayette's bench 35-33
* Villa edged out Fayette on the boards (46-39)
* Villa won the battle on the offensive glass (18-14)
* Villa shot 61.8 percent (21-34) from the free throw line while Penn State shot 56 percent (14-25)

WHAT THEY SAID
HC Don Silveri: "We played a much better second half.  That's how we need to play all the time.  We played hard and unselfishly.  That's our key to success.  Hopefully we can build off this going forward and into our few final games this year and into the new year."
UP NEXT
The Vikings will now host the Villa Holiday Classic on Wednesday and Thursday, December 20th and 21st in the team's final two games before the Christmas holiday.  The Vikings will take on USCAA II opponent, Southern State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and USCAA I and NAIA foe, Washington Adventist University at 4 p.m. on Thursday.  In the other game on Wednesday, Washington Adventist will take on defending Ontario Collegiate Athletic Association conference champion, the Sheridan College Bruins at 6 p.m..  In the first game on Thursday, Sheridan and Southern State will do battle at 2 p.m.

FOLLOW THE VIKINGS
Follow the Vikings on Twitter (@VillaVikings), Facebook (Facebook.com/villavikings) and Instagram (@villavikings) for all news, stats, scores, stories and more to keep up to date on all things Villa athletics. Go Vikings!