Ennis can only watch as Villanova outlasts Lafayette

DYLAN ENNIS doesn't want to miss any games. The way he figures it, he already missed enough of them last season. But that was NCAA-mandated, after he transferred to Villanova from Rice. This is different. This time, he's sitting because he has a cast on his right (shooting) hand, protecting a broken bone in his middle finger.

Doesn't matter whether it was a freak accident or not. The Wildcats were running a 5-on-0 drill at practice, and Ennis ran into freshman big man Darryl Reynolds. Stuff happens, often when you least expect it.

So for now the redshirt sophomore guard, who figured to only improve what was already a pretty decent backcourt, is being forced to do the one thing no young athlete wants: watch.

Last night at the Pavilion, the Wildcats opened their season with a 75-59 victory over Lafayette, which is coached by onetime standout Villanova guard Fran O'Hanlon and was picked to finish second in the Patriot League. Villanova was picked to finish fourth in the new, 10-team Big East. Last March, they got back to the NCAA Tournament after a 1-year absence. This March, they're looking to win a game in the Madness for the first time since 2010. Ennis is supposed to be a fairly significant part of all that.

"Everybody has injuries," he said before the game. "The good thing is, at least it happened before the [conference] season. Not that these games are any less important. They call count the same. But all you can do is try and stay as positive as possible."

The Wildcats, who hadn't lost an opener since 2002 (Jay Wright's second season), could have used his help. The only time they'd lost to the Leopards was 1922. And that was by forfeit. This was the third meeting since World War II.

This wasn't the way it was supposed to go. You didn't even have to listen to the crowd to know that.

Yes, they missed Mouphtaou Yarou, who was arguably their most important player in March. Time to move on.

Villanova led by two at the break, having shot 3-for-18 from the arc (after making its first two). It wouldn't get much better. But the Wildcats, after falling behind by five with 14 minutes left, survived.

It was still a two-point game with 3 1/2 minutes to go, before the Wildcats went on a 12-4 run.

Ryan Arcidiacono, playing with sore ribs, didn't score until the final 20 minutes. James Bell, one of the two seniors, had the team's first 13 and finished with 24, three better than his previous career high. And it was his three-pointer that broke a 47-all tie at the 7 1/2-minnute mark. JayVaughn Pinkston got 14 of his 22 in the second half. Darrun Hilliard, who also did most of his damage after the break, added 13.

Villanova went 5-for-30 from deep (14-from-22 from two), to Lafayette's 11-for-24. The Wildcats also owned the boards in the second half, after the Leopards had seven more through 20 minutes. They also finished with nine more turnovers (16-7), and were 28-for-38 from the line.

Ennis said he met yesterday with his doctor, who told him there's a chance he could be cleared to return by the end of the month. That seems a little optimistic, since the original diagnosis made it sound more like mid-December. So we'll see.

"At first, every player's going to be a little bit upset," Ennis said. "But I talked to my mom. She said that God has a plan. He wouldn't have put me through this, at this time, if he didn't think I could get through it. That's the attitude I have to take. Until I'm ready to go, I'll be there for my teammates, supporting them, just like they're supporting me.

"There's nothing I can do right now except be a good cheerleader. Everyone's telling me how good it's going to be when I get back, so . . . I did have an off season last season, so it's nothing different for me. I want to help, but this is a learning experience. At least I can see what I have to do when I do get in."

Ryan Arcidiacono played way too many minutes last season as a freshman. The presence of Ennis should change that for the better. We'll see exactly how much at some point.

"You always think the worst and hope for the best," insisted Ennis, who fractured his right wrist in high school. "I'm definitely doing that. When they say I can play, I'll play. If not, I'll sit out a couple more. I'll be good. I won't come back until I know I'm ready.

"This will give me a chance to work on my left [hand]. As far as conditioning goes, I'm up at 6:30 every day working out. They have me on a regimen. I take this as another challenge. I've been here so long. It's a family. I want to play with them. I've been shooting my whole life. So I don't think [coming back's] going to be a problem . . .

"Everyone keeps telling me it's good that it happened so early, instead of later. Of course that's easy for them to say."