The afternoon bracket of the Big 5 Classic entertained Philly basketball fans with two games before the main event took the court. The opening contest saw the Drexel Dragons defeat the Penn Quakers, 60-47, for their only win over their three tournament games, while Penn finished at 0-3. The middle contest of the day featured the Villanova Wildcats, who stomped Temple Owls, 94-65, in a battle of 1-1 teams. The final of the Big 5 Classic had St. Joseph’s battle La Salle for the 2024 Big 5 Title, with St. Joe’s looking to repeat their 2023 win in the college hoops tournament.
Villanova Dominates Temple in Mid-Afternoon Game
The 4 p.m. EST game was not competitive straight from the opening tip-off. Villanova stormed out to a 12-4 lead as Temple struggled on 1-10 from the field to open the game. The Wildcats then started launching three-pointers, opening up a 21-8 advantage almost halfway into the first half. Temple closed the gap as Villanova managed a measly five points in a five-minute stretch, making it an eight-point game with 7:10 remaining. Villanova finished on a 19-11 scoring run to enter halftime with a 45-29 lead.
Villanova’s scoring barrage continued in the second half as they outscored Temple 49-36, leaving no hope for an Owls comeback. Senior Eric Dixon was electric with 31 points, improving his points-per-game average to 25.9 ppg, good for second in NCAA Division 1 this season. Philadelphia-born Senior Wooga Poplar posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Jamal Mashburn Jr. led Temple in scoring with 20 points.
After the game, Villanova Head Coach Kyle Neptune spoke about Dixon’s elite scoring that exceeded his average this season on Saturday night. “It’s impressive, for sure,” Neptune started. “I’ve seen him for so long. I was making a joke that I’ve known this kid maybe 8 or 9 years… I’ve just watched him do it over and over and over, but when you sit back and look at the string of what he has done, it is impressive.”
Eric Dixon and Villanova (6-4) host Farleigh Dickinson (4-7) for the next action on Wednesday night. Temple (4-4) welcomes Holy Family University (5-3) to Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
Drexel Pulls Away From Penn Late in Second Half
Drexel improved to 6-4 on the season following the 60-47 victory, while Penn dropped to 3-6 as both teams prepare for their conference schedules to begin. Neither team was able to dominate in an even half of basketball.
The game entered the halftime break tied 30-30, with each team continuing to search for their offense in the hallways of the Wells Fargo Center. Drexel was the better shooting team in the second half, powered by Cole Hargrove, who finished with a double-double on 17 points and 13 rebounds in a staggering 36 (of 40) minutes of action. Nick Spinoso did his best to lead the unsuccessful comeback charge for Penn with 21 points.
Drexel is next in action with a trip to Albany, New York, next weekend. Penn travels in the other direction to visit VCU in Virginia on Monday night.
