PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- More than 20 months removed from his last game, Dylan Ennis finally got onto the court for Villanova.
And the Wildcats immediately reaped the benefits against USC.
Ennis scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half, James Bell led Villanova with 17, and the Wildcats never trailed on the way to beating the Trojans, 94-79, on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Ennis sat out last season after transferring from Rice, and his debut was delayed this season because of a broken right hand.
"He's got an intangible that is really valuable, his energy," Villanova Coach Jay Wright said of Ennis, whose most recent game had been March 20, 2012, for Rice. "He's got great energy off the court, as a student, as a person, teammate. And on the court he's got great energy. I was more concerned that he would be out of his mind because he's so excited to be back playing."
Ennis was fine every step of the way, and so was Villanova. The Wildcats (5-0) will play No. 2 Kansas in Friday night's semifinals. USC (4-2) will meet Wake Forest in the consolation round.
Darrun Hilliard scored 16 points, Ryan Arcidiacono scored all 14 of his points in the first half and JayVaughn Pinkston scored 12 for Villanova.
Pe'Shon Howard scored 23 points for USC, which finished with seven assists and 16 turnovers.
"Villanova played an excellent basketball game," USC Coach Andy Enfield said. "Give them a lot of credit. I've been following Jay Wright for the last 12 years. Just an excellent basketball team and they played at a high level today, especially in the first half."
Villanova made eight three-pointers in the first half on the way to a 48-37 lead at the break, and an 18-6 second-half spurt put things away. The Wildcats' lead was down to 59-50 with 11:45 left and swelled to 77-56 over the next five minutes. Villanova set a record for single-game points in the 3-year-old event, and held the Trojans to 41% shooting.
"It wasn't too tough," Ennis said, asked to describe how he kept his emotions in check. "I've been practicing with the team every day. This is family to me. Whenever you go somewhere with family, you're comfortable and I was comfortable today."
Byron Wesley scored 15 and Roschon Prince added 12 for USC.
Maybe it was being 2,500 miles from home or playing a game that started at 10 a.m. Los Angeles time, but for whatever reason, the Trojans weren't sharp in the opening minutes. Villanova got two deflections and a steal on the game's first possession to set the tone for a first half in which the Wildcats were in control throughout.
"They hit us in the mouth," Howard said.
USC trailed 11-2 early, eventually got within 27-26, but played catch-up all day.
It was the first of 12 games to be played in three days in the Bahamas, though the dramatics actually started ahead of schedule Wednesday night when members of the USC and Texas-El Paso staffs exchanged some heated words at a pre-tournament gathering.
Enfield — whose profile soared enormously and quickly last season, when he led little-known Florida Gulf Coast into the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament — was quoted in December's issue of Men's Journal talking about UTEP Coach Tim Floyd, saying he "shows up every day at work and realizes he lives in El Paso, Texas. And he's [angry] that he didn't get the USC job."
The relationship with Floyd, a former coach of the Trojans, and Enfield has been tenuous for some time amid allegations that USC tampered with a recruit who was committed to the Miners.
"I regret that the situation happened and I apologize to the USC fans, but this is about the players," Enfield said Thursday. "We're moving on."
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