By DAN GELSTON
AP Basketball Writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Scottie Reynolds learned a lesson
starting the game on the bench.

Once in the game, he delivered a teachable moment of his own to
15th-seeded Robert Morris: Don't let a Final Four-tested team
like Villanova off the hook.

Reynolds was benched, his shot wasn't falling and his Wildcats
were on the brink of having their NCAA tournament run end in the
biggest of upsets. He responded with a clutch performance at the
foul line in the final minutes of regulation, and No. 2 seed
Villanova survived a scare from Robert Morris in a 73-70
overtime victory Thursday in the NCAA tournament.

"I always think we're going to win, I always think we're going
to find a way," coach Jay Wright said.

Trailing 55-47 with 4:19 left in the second half, Reynolds
attacked the basket and led a fearless rally from the free-throw
line. His reliable stroke was absent, but he never stopped
hustling in the second half, and Reynolds' sliding save of a
loose ball at Robert Morris' end led to two free throws that cut
the lead to 55-51.

The Colonials (23-12) coughed up the ball again, Reynolds was
fouled again and he delivered again on both attempts from the
line and it was 55-53 with 2:10 left.

Robert Morris committed their 21st turnover and - notice a
pattern? - fouled Reynolds. Two more from the line and it was
tied 55-all with 1:48 left in regulation.

All those missed jumpers - Reynolds was 2 of 15 from the floor -
seemed forgotten.

"He is a live-by-the-sword, die-by-the-sword kind of guy,"
Wright said. "And I'll die by his sword any time because we've
won so many. Even when he was missing them, I was saying, 'If
that's how we're going to go down, I'll go down with him any
time."'

The Wildcats (25-7) weren't going down. They'll play 10th-seeded
Saint Mary's, which beat Richmond 80-71, on Saturday.

Karon Abraham scored 23 for Robert Morris, which was on the
brink of becoming only the fifth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 and
the first since 2001. Abraham let fly a 25-footer in OT that cut
it to 71-70 with 10.2 seconds left, but Mezie Nwigwe's
off-balance 3 at the buzzer was no good.

The Northeast Conference champion Colonials left the court to a
standing ovation - even from Villanova's mascot.

The Wildcats, trying to reach their second straight Final Four,
entered having lost five of seven and were a surprising pick for
the No. 2 seed in the South Regional.

That was only the start of the shockers.

First came the news that Reynolds, their team leader and top
scorer had been benched. Then Robert Morris nearly sent them all
packing way earlier than expected.

Wright made the bold move to sit Reynolds at the start of the
game to make a "teaching point." He declined to reveal the
reasons behind the disciplinary action against Villanova's
leading scorer.

Reynolds said he got the message.

"You have to be excellent all the time, put it like that,"
Reynolds said. "You can't have any flaws, even if it's so minor,
even an inch, because that's the margin of victory."

Reynolds and Corey Fisher were both benched for the start, but
their punishment didn't last long. Reynolds sat out 4 minutes
and Fisher checked in about 30 seconds later.

Reynolds hit his only 3 of the game in OT to give the Wildcats a
cushion, and although Abraham kept the Colonials close, it
wasn't enough.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Abraham said. "They put on a
jersey, just like I put on a jersey."

Abraham, a 5-foot-9 guard with a mohawk, put most of the soldout
crowd solidly behind Robert Morris in the second half on a pair
of highlight reel plays. His first came from just beyond the
arc, he banked an off-balance 3 and crashed to the court on a
foul. He made the free throw for the rare four-point play and a
42-34 lead.

He followed that by scooting down the baseline and tossing up a
one-handed layup that went up and in for an eight-point lead and
brought out cheers of "Robert Morris! Robert Morris!"

"When he hit that (bank), 'Oh my God,"' Wright said.

The Colonials came out firing from 3-point range in an early
attempt to rattle the Wildcats. Abraham sank his first three 3s
- a run-and-shoot from way beyond the arc brought the fans to
life - and helped them take a lead they wouldn't relinquish
until there was 1:48 left.

Robert Morris led 28-22 at halftime, but never could build the
lead to double digits, even with a 21-10 edge on the boards and
holding the Wildcats to only 30 percent shooting at the break.

For all the Colonials did right, they did just as much wrong.
Those early 3s from Abraham helped, but the Colonials missed
their next eight attempts. Robert Morris turned the ball over a
whopping 21 times to keep the Wildcats in the hunt.

"I'm never going to forget us playing Villanova, almost beating
Villanova, up by six with 2 minutes left in the game," forward
Dallas Green said. "I'll never forget that experience. That's
it."