Booth keeps going, keeps Villanova ticking
Simply by being on the floor for tip-off against Saint Mary’s Thursday night at the XL Center, Phil Booth ascended to an impressive position in Villanova basketball history.
The 6-3 redshirt senior guard from Baltimore became the all-time program leader in games played with 147, surpassing former teammates Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins. Considering the rocky road Booth traveled during his career, it’s amazing that he was able to play in 147 games ... and now, counting.
Booth played his entire sophomore season with a sore left knee. Although he did help the Wildcats to a national championship, scoring a game-high 20 points in the final against North Carolina, the injury had lingering effects. Three games into the next season Booth was shut down because of inflammation in his left knee. The injury did not require surgery, but it did cost him the rest of the season. While he was pain free when he returned the following season, he was not injury free. Booth missed nine games with a broken bone in his right hand.
As it turned out, Booth missing 2016-17 turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Wildcats. If he had played in 20 percent of the Wild-
cats’ games that season, he would not have been around to save Villanova’s bacon in the opening round of the NCAAs and gain entrance into another exclusive club Thursday night.
Booth scored 20 points, handed out six assists and made two steals as the sixth-seeded Wildcats rallied from a two-point, halftime deficit to defeat 11thseeded Saint Mary’s (Calif.), 61-57.
As usual, he was at his best in the second half. Booth was instrumental in
a 12-3 run to start the second half that put Villanova in control and secured a second-round meeting Saturday with the winner of the Purdue-Old Dominion game.
Booth scored five points, handed out two assists and made a steal that led to a dunk by Jermaine Samuels that turned a 30-28 deficit into a 40-33 lead. And when the Gaels made a push later in the second half, Booth was there to stem the tide again.
He credited the Gaels for raising the level of his game and that of his teammates.
“We weren’t going that bad, actually,” Booth said. “It was more they were playing very well and we were
trying to match how they were bringing it. I think we just had to take it to another level because they were playing at a high level. I don’t think we were doing anything wrong, it was more credit to how good Saint Mary’s was playing and we had to match that.”
Booth was the one to show the Wildcats how its done. It’s been that way all season. After Jordan Ford buried a triple to get the Gaels within 53-49, Booth banked a triple from the top of the key 24 seconds later to push the spread back to seven. After a reverse layup by Jordan Hunter got the Gaels back to four, Booth went to the rim, got fouled and made both free throws.
Then he fed Dahmir CosbyRoundtree for an alley-oop dunk.
Overall, Booth had 12 of his points, handed out five of his assists and made both of his steals in the final 20 minutes to get the Wildcats to the second round for the sixth year in a row.
The second-half performance was not a surprise. Booth has often been at his best late in games. It only makes sense that trend would continue in the tournament.
In the process Booth joined Duke’s Grant Hill, Thomas Hill, Bobby Hurley and Antonio Lang as the only players in NCAA history to win 13 consecutive tournament games.