ENOLA, PA – The Villa Maria College men's basketball team hit the road on Saturday, November 20 as they took on Central Penn College in what was Villa's fourth straight game away from home. After a big first-half, Villa was able to walk away with an 82-70 win. The victory moves the Vikings to 4-3 on the season, while the Knights fall to 2-3.
The initial nine minutes of the game was a back-and-forth battle between the two units, with Villa's lead hitting as many as three points. They began to pull away after
Rhalon Bragg knocked down a three-pointer at the 11:20 mark to put the team up 15-9. From there, the Vikings began to take control starting with layups by
Jerrold Skillon,
Jeriah Williams and Bragg that put the advantage at 12 points.
Zamar Harris hit a three-pointer to continue the run and then a layup by
Nolan Shephard put the lead at 18 points with seven minutes on the clock. The largest lead occurred with 3:39 to play when
Trent Cordone made a three-pointer to put the team ahead by 25 points. At half-time, Villa led 42-22.
The Vikings maintained their 20 points advantage for the first ten minutes of the second half, but the Knights began to mount a comeback. They cut their deficit to 12 points with 7:03 to play and then to single digits with 4:24 to play. Central Penn got to within six multiple times down the stretch, but Villa was able to connect on just enough baskets to stifle the opposition. Shephard was clutch in the final two minutes, scoring six of the teams final eight points, including four free-throws. Villa walked away with the 82-70 victory.
Shephard finished the day with 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Williams recorded similar stats with 17 points of his own and nine rebounds. Skillon and Bragg both finished with double-doubles, with Skillion going for 15 points and 11 rebounds and Bragg scoring 14 points and snagging 13 rebounds. Cordone also finished with double-digit scoring, adding 12 points and hitting two threes.
The Vikings return home on Saturday, December 4 when they host Fisher College at 2:30 p.m.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Viking's scores and news by following @VillaVikings on Twitter, @villavikings on Instagram and by liking the "Villa Maria Vikings" Facebook page.
