By Dylan Butler
But Bronx-born Julius Hodge broke the tie when the former St. Ray's star exploded to the hole and completed a 3-point play with four seconds left to lift the 10th-seeded Wolfpack to a 65-62 win over the second-seeded Huskies.It was the stunning end of the season for the defending national champions and could be the end of Villanueva's collegiate career. The 6-foot-10 sophomore from Woodhaven has hinted at the possibility of making the jump to the NBA.Before his freshman year, the former Newtown star declared himself draft eligible, but pulled out and opted for UConn after initially verbally committing to play at Illinois for Bill Self before he bolted for Kansas.”If I could stay in college forever, I would,” Villanueva told the Boston Globe. “But I've got family obligations. We'll have to see.”Villanueva, who averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game and led the Huskies in scoring and/or rebounding in each of the Huskies final 11 games, was the final Queens native left in the NCAA tournament.A year after Villanueva and former St. John's Prep star Taliek Brown led UConn to the national title and Cardozo standout Royal Ivey led Texas to the Final Four, no one from Queens made it past the first two rounds.Villanueva opened the NCAA tournament in fine fashion, scoring a team-high 22 points in a 77-71 first round win over Central Florida Friday afternoon.Mark McCarroll's college career quietly ended last Thursday when No. 9 Pittsburgh fell to eighth-seeded Pacific in a first round Albuquerque Region game in Boise, Idaho.The 6-foot-11 senior out of Christ the King was 0-for-2 from the field in nine minutes as the starting small forward for the Panthers, but leaves Pittsburgh as part of the winningest class in school history.Beach Channel grad Rahshon Clark was one of three Iowa State players to score in double figures with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 24 minutes in an 82-65 loss to top-seeded North Carolina in the second round of the Syracuse Region Sunday in Charlotte, N.C.Clark, a 6-foot-6 forward, had 14 points for No. 9 Iowa State in a 64-53 win over eighth-seeded Minnesota in a first round game Friday.Springfield Gardens native Tarik Viaer-McClymont, a 6-foot-7 junior center out of Lawrence Woodmere Academy, had no points in three minutes but he will always be able to tell his grandchildren that he played for No. 14 Bucknell in a stunning 64-63 upset of third-seeded Kansas Friday night in Oklahoma City, Okla.The Bison's Cinderella season ended two nights later when Wisconsin advanced to the Sweet 16 courtesy of a 71-62 win.Former Springfield Gardens star Jason McLeish, a 6-foot starting junior guard, had 7 points including 5-of-9 from the foul line for Eastern Kentucky in a 72-64 loss to second-seeded Kentucky in a first round game last Thursday in Indianapolis, Ind.SJU women fall in NIT second roundAfter winning at Delaware last Thursday in a first round game, the St. John's women's basketball team's season came to an end Monday, dropping a 68-63 decision at West Virginia in the second round of the NIT. Kia Wright had 24 points and 8 assists, Angela Clark added 13 points and Greeba Barlow had 9 points off the bench for St. John's (20-11). Clark had 18 points and 8 rebounds, Barlow had 10 points and Wright had 8 points and 7 assists in a 48-43 win at Delaware last Thursday.Reach Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 143.
