SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)— Corey Fisher claims he never got nervous after No. 5 Villanova nearly gave up an 18-point lead to No. 18 Dayton in the second half.
It showed at the free-throw line.
Fisher scored 18 points and was perfect in four trips to the foul line in the final minutes to help the Wildcats (4-0) hold on for a 71-65 victory yesterday in the second round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
After trailing by 18 early in the second half, the Flyers (2-1) trimmed the lead to 62-60 with 2:23 left when London Warren converted two free throws after he was fouled on a breakaway. But Villanova, which finished 22 of 29 from the line, scored the rest of its points at the charity stripe, including four from Fisher in the waning moments.
Taylor King had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats and Antonio Pena added 13 points.
Luke Fabrizius led the rally for Dayton, scoring nine of his 16 points in the second half along with his nine rebounds. Chris Wright added 15 points and Chris Johnson had 13.
