Temple University Athletics
VILLANOVA HOLDS OFF TEMPLE IN BIG 5 BATTLE, 70-66
12.8.01 | Men's Basketball
The two Big 5 teams traded baskets for the first seven and one-half minutes of the game but a Nile Murry three-pointer put the Owls up 14-12 with 12:31 left in the first half. From there, Villanova went on a 14-2 run to take a 24-16 advantage.
The Owls got to within 26-23 with 5:01 left before intermission, but hot shooting by the 'Cats upped the lead back to 33-27 heading into the locker room.
Villanova shot 13-of-22 (59.1%) in the first half while the Owls shot just 10-of-28 (35.7%). Ricky Wright led Villanova with 10 first-half points while Greer had 11 for Temple.
Trailing 50-36 with 11:31 left, the Owls behind All-America candidate, Lynn Greer, mounted a comeback. His 12 points in a span of 5:47 brought the Owls back to within three at 62-59 with 3:48 left. Villanova forward Ricky Wright scored four straight points to put the 'Cats up 66-59 with just 2:53 remaining. The Owls would go on a 7-0 run themselves, thanks to a three by Alex Wesby, a steal and dunk by sophomore guard Brian Polk and a pretty layup by Greer to tie the score at 66 with just 56-seconds left.
Derrick Snowden made a foul line jumper as Villanova regained the lead at 68-66 with just 21-seconds remaining. After a Temple timeout, the Owls inbounded the ball to Greer. The Wildcats ran three defenders at Greer who was forced to the left baseline. As the gutsy senior looked for an open Owl, he turned the ball over. Snowden was then fouled and dropped in two free throws with six-seconds left to seal the victory.
The Wildcats shot a season-high best 58.7% (27-of-46) from the floor for the game to offset their 20 turnovers and 20 more shots by the hard-luck losers.
Once again, Lynn Greer, led the Owls in scoring with 29 followed by 11 from senior forward Alex Wesby.
The Owls now have nine days off before heading up the New Jersey Turnpike to play nationally-ranked Alabama in the first game (7:00 p.m.) of a doubleheader at the Continental Arena at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Tuesday, December 18th.
