Temple University Athletics
Villanova Keeps Big 5 Streak Alive With 83-65 Win Over Temple
12.30.06 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2006
VILLANOVA, PA - Villanova broke open a tight contest with a 13-3 run to start the second half and won for the tenth straight time in Big Five play with an 83-65 victory over Temple on Saturday night at The Pavilion. Sophomore Dionte Christmas led the Owls with 22 points, including 15 in the first half, and junior Mark Tyndale added 16 points. The Cherry and White was plagued by a season-high 19 turnovers and was outscored 36-18 in the paint.
Christmas and senior Dustin Salisbery (10 points) carried the Owls to a 30-29 advantage after twenty minutes of play. The pair got most of their open looks after the visitors broke the Wildcats' 1-2-2 full-court press and combined for four three-pointers. With three VU forwards in foul trouble, Temple held its own underneath and senior Dion Dacons pulled down seven caroms.
Senior Curtis Sumpter rebounded from a sub-par first half to carry the team during its 13-3 run over the first six minutes of the second stanza. Sumpter, who finished with game-highs of 22 points and 14 rebounds, scored the first six points in the run. His tomahawk dunk after driving baseline just a minute into the half ignited a sellout Pavilion crowd.
Temple would cut the lead back to five at 44-39 with 13:06 to play but senior Mike Nardi hit a pair of three-pointers in less than a minute to give Villanova its first double-digit lead. The Wildcats would add to the advantage when Dacons (10 rebounds) went down with a sprained foot midway through the half.
"It's nice to have seniors, it really is," Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. "You don't know how young guys will react when their shots are not falling. But with seniors, you know that they will not hang their head and keep getting after it."
Playing with five guards, none taller than 6-5, VU took it to the Owls in the paint. Over the next six minutes, Villanova (10-2, 3-0 Big 5) got to the foul line six times and scored eight points in the paint to extend the lead to as many as 18.
A total of four players scored double-digits for Villanova. Sumpter led the way with 22, while Nardi (17 points), freshman Scottie Reynolds (12 points, nine assists) and sophomore Dante Cunningham (11 points) were too much to handle for the Owls, who used primarily a seven-man rotation.
"They really have a lot of weapons," head coach Fran Dunphy said. "We still don't have a lot of margin for error and when do we don't take care of the ball, we're in trouble."
Nardi and the Villanova defense focused on Christmas in the second half. The Atlantic 10's leading scorer was held scoreless for the first 11 minutes of the second half and managed just four shots in the stanza. He still reached the 20-point plateau for the ninth time in his past ten games.
"He was really overplaying me on the perimeter," Christmas said of Nardi.
Tyndale scored all 16 of his points in the second half and added seven rebounds. Like Christmas, Salisbery could not get in a rhythm, shooting just 1-for-6 in the half to finish the game with 14 points.
The Cherry and White (6-5) has not won at The Pavilion since 1990 and falls to 0-1 in Big 5 play. Villanova has not lost a Big 5 game since a 53-52 loss to Temple at The Palestra on December 4, 2004. Ironically, the streak does not include all Philadelphia schools, as the Wildcats dropped a 81-76 decision to Drexel earlier this month.
The Owls will travel to #5 Duke on Tuesday, January 2. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 beginning at 7 p.m.
