'Cats meow? Late growl leads to win

They are the three words no high seed in the NCAA hoops tourney wants to hear: One and done.

Villanova came perilously close to doing just that Thursday night as they struggled to put away a pesky American team. The final score was 80-67.

Don’t believe it. The Wildcats had to claw their way out of a 14-point hole before taking control late in the game.

It wasn’t clawing but a gnawing feeling in the pit of their stomach that Villanova’s faithful had to deal with much of the night. Would the No. 3 seed Wildcats fall victim to this year’s Cinderella story, at the hands of the No. 14 seed American?

The Wildcats went into the locker room down 10 at the half. When they came out and promptly fell behind by even more, those were some seriously worried looks on faces that stretched from the Wachovia Center to the Main Line.

Never fear. Eventually the ‘Cats recovered and won going away. Now it’s on to Saturday and a date with UCLA.

But these Wildcats have used up several of their nine lives.

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