As the nation gets ready to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, College Basketball will take center stage with some in-season tournaments. A few teams from the Philadelphia Area got to take part in them this week.
On Thursday, Villanova & Saint Josephs would take part in their mid-season tournaments. Villanova got invited to play in the Myrtle Beach Invitational
GAMEDAY in Myrtle Beach! ?⚪️@MyrtleInvite
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?: Middle Tennessee State
?: 11:30 AM
?: HTC Center
?: ESPN 2
?: @610ESPN
?: @tunein / https://t.co/rkcpAyaWYy
?: https://t.co/qQOijKtAGv#NovaMBB100 pic.twitter.com/h0gWfmSfQ8— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) November 21, 2019
While the Saint Josephs plays in the Charleston Classic.
IT'S HERE! IT'S GAMEDAY!!
?Florida
?Charleston, S.C.
?2 p.m.
?ESPN2 https://t.co/IIx8z3tgFU
?https://t.co/og0u2PhRhb#THWND | #theSTORY | #CharlestonClassic pic.twitter.com/nY1DEtKTwz— SJU Hawks MBB (@SJUHawks_MBB) November 21, 2019
Both tournaments are in South Carolina, what are the odds?
In the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Villanova took on Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. In the first half, the Wildcats would jump all over Middle Tennessee by making 11 of 21 from 3 PT rane and going 20-33 for 61%. The Wildcats led 53-28 at the half and kept it going in the second period by shooting 18-34 for 53%. Nova knocked out Middle Tennessee 98-69. Cole Swider lead the Wildcats with 26 points while Donovan Sims lead Middle Tennessee State with 18 points. The Wildcats will now get ready for battle with Mississippi State on November 22.
The Saint Josephs Hawks got their Thursday going by taking on Florida Gators in the Charleston Classic. Saint Josephs came into the game off a loss. The Gators made a statement by jumping all over the Hawks in the first half by shooting 16-34 for 47% and in the process connected on 7 three pointers for a 41-25 lead. In the second half, the Hawks woke up and got back into the game and at one point they would have the lead down to three at 59-56 with 6:11 left.
Ryan Daily was the leading scorer for the Hawks in this game with 25 points and Keyontae Johnson lead the Gators with 22 points. The Hawks will now head to battle with Missouri State on November 22.
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Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports