Villanova Pushes Past Temple Late, Makes Big 5 Title Game

Villanova Men’s Basketball defeated the Temple Owls with a 45 point second half push on Monday, Dec. 1, winning 74-56 to secure a spot in the Big 5 Classic championship game. This marks the sixth win in a row for Villanova and their first-ever trip to the title game, which began with the inaugural Big 5 Classic in 2023.

Tyler Perkins (19 points), who made the Big East Honor Roll for his performance against Old Dominion on Nov. 25, led the Wildcats in scoring for the second game in a row. True freshman point guard Acaden Lewis starred as a facilitator with 12 points, eight assists, two steals and no turnovers, while Duke Brennan picked up 14 points and eight rebounds in his first game action since Nov. 19.

Both teams punched and counter-punched early, but Villanova managed to take a seven point lead out of the U8 media timeout  thanks to a second-chance layup from Bryce Lindsay. Temple raced back to take the lead with a 10-2 run that concluded with a Derrian Ford layup. Lindsay and Perkins sank threes on consecutive possessions to retake the lead, but Owls’ guard Jordan Mason made it 29-28 at the half with a late layup.

Aiden Tobiason put Temple back in front early in the second half, drawing a foul from behind the arc and sinking two of the ensuing free throws. He then sank another triple, and two free throws from Ford gave the Owls their largest lead of the evening, 37-33.

Villanova Pulls Away

Villanova regained the lead with three consecutive three point plays, a Lewis and-one and triples from Devin Askew and Perkins. That forced a Temple timeout as an anxious Wildcats’ home crowd began to get into the game. Tobiason made another three out of the break, but a dunk and a layup from Brennan helped Villanova maintain their momentum.

The Wildcats put Temple to bed with another 9-0 run, a Perkins steal and tip-in layup forcing an Owls timeout trailing 64-49 with 4:13 to go. The Owls didn’t gain any momentum out of the stoppage, as they made just one shot from the field the rest of the way.

Up next, Villanova will face Penn in the Big 5 Classic Championship Game at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday, Dec. 6. Temple will face Saint Joseph’s in the third place game.