Big 5 Hoops: Temple moves to 3-0 over Drexel, Villanova upset by St. Joe’s

Big 5 basketball opened up with two quality games on Tuesday night. The Temple Owls hosted Drexel and improved to 3-0 with a 69-61 victory. Meanwhile, St. Joe’s managed an upset over Villanova across town, besting the Wildcats 83-76.

Temple went into the night as 9.5-point favorites over Drexel and handled business, but the game played much closer than that for much of the contest. I was in the Liacouras Center for this one, and while the crowd was rocking, things certainly felt tense at points throughout the night.

Zion Stanford was the standout player for the Owls, notching 23 points on 9 of 13 shooting. He opened up strong, scoring the first 10 points of the game.

Temple pulled away in the first half and held on late for a 68-63 win over Drexel in a tense Big 5 matchup. The Cherry and White extended their lead to 30-23 after a three from Stanford with six minutes left in the first half. Drexel made a push, trimming the lead to just two points, but a missed layup turned into a fastbreak three by Matteo Picarelli, and Temple took a 37-32 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Owls came out hot, hitting five of their first ten shots and going on a 13-6 run to push the lead to 50-38 with five minutes gone. Drexel responded with back-to-back threes, but Temple answered with some big plays of its own. Dillon Battie threw down a monster putback dunk, then Berry grabbed a steal and finished with a slam to extend the lead to 55-44, forcing a Drexel timeout with 11:32 left.

Dillon Battie and Quante Berry put the Big 5 on notice with back-to-back slams to help close out the victory for Temple:

😲🤯#Team129 pic.twitter.com/UEDlvkfQOD

— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) November 13, 2024

Playa Bowls Play of the Game! @PlayaBowlsTU can we get a bowl with extra BERRY🫐😁#Team129 pic.twitter.com/TL2BKwtgLf

— Temple Men's Basketball (@TUMBBHoops) November 13, 2024

The Dragons didn’t go away, battling back and cutting the deficit to just three points in the final minutes. But Temple held firm, hitting all four free throws in the last 1:16 to seal the win and finish strong.

The win was even sweeter for me because I was at the game with my dad and some of his TU buddies from back in the day. It’s always a good time with those guys, to put it mildly.

On the other hand, Villanova lost its fourth straight game in Big 5 competition. As a Temple man, this brings me great joy and happiness.

Saint Joseph’s held off two second-half rallies from Villanova to claim an 83-76 win on Tuesday night. The Wildcats found themselves down by double digits in the second half but managed to rally, briefly pulling ahead.

However, each time they threatened to take control, the Hawks had an answer, keeping the ‘Cats at bay and sealing the victory. Despite their best efforts, Villanova couldn’t complete the comeback as Saint Joseph’s came out on top in this hard-fought rivalry game.

Kyle Neptune’s days in Bryn Mawr might be numbered. Who knows? I hoped the Owls would face Villanova for the Big 5 Championship in December, but the Wildcats might not even be the one seed in their pod.

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