Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery

VILLANOVA, Pa. - It was a note that spoke to the balance and unselfishness of a Villanova unit that had survived unscathed through its first nine games of 2014-15. Entering action on Sunday, the No. 7 Wildcats had yet to have any player score 20 or more points in a game.

That changed in an 85-62 Philadelphia Big Five victory over Temple on Sunday before the 151st straight regular season sellout at the Pavilion (6,500). Senior Darrun Hilliard and sophomore Josh Hart each dropped in 20 points as the efficient `Cats pulled away from the Owls in the second half to improve to 10-0 overall, 3-0 in City Series action.

"We were watching film of Temple after their St. Joe's game and could see they are getting better and better with each game," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "That's why I'm proud of how we played.

"They are a very good defensive team so to score 85 points on them was good for us. They really defend. I thought we got beat up on the glass a little bit but in the second half we did a better job."

Hilliard and Hart were both 6-of-7 from the field on the day. Hilliard added four rebounds to his 20 point afternoon while Hart contributed seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot to the cause.

"It felt great," stated Hilliard. "I was just trying to make plays."

While Wright certainly appreciates the unselfishness and balance that has characterized his team's start, he was also happy to see Hilliard and Hart get on a roll, much as junior Dylan Ennis did in an 18-point outburst in Tuesday's 73-59 victory over Illinois at the Jimmy V Classic.

"It is nice when a couple of guys get it going," noted Wright. "I thought our team did a good job when Josh got it going to find him. You don't have to run plays for Darrun - he just does so many things. Josh is the same way. Today we happened to run plays for (Josh).

"That was good for us to experience that as a team. The only time we did it was in the Illinois game when Dylan got going. But we really hadn't had many chances to do that this year and you need to do that before league play."

It was Hart who ignited the first burst for the Wildcats in the first period. After entering the game with 14:48 left to play in the first half, the sophomore quickly drained a 3-pointer to push what had been a 6-4 lead to 9-4. Hart then found Hilliard who dropped in a triple of his own to make it 12-4 with the game not yet seven minutes old.

An 8-0 burst keyed by Obi Enechionyia pulled the Owls to within 17-12 midway through the period but the Wildcats' offensive efficiency allowed them to steadily rebuild their margin. VU led 39-26 at halftime.

The teams traded baskets early in the second half and Temple got to within 43-33 with 17:10 left to play on a traditional 3-point play by Will Cummings. Yet Hart and Hilliard soon struck again and the Wildcats ran off a 13-6 spurt to extend their advantage to 56-39 with 12: 20 to go.

VU was in control the rest of the day. The final count was 85-62, the Wildcats third consecutive double-digit point victory over a City Series foe.

"I think things are cyclical," stated Wright of a Big Five winning streak that has now reached nine in a row. "We have older guys right now. I think we just have two years here where we have older guys and the other teams are younger. That makes a big difference in college basketball and I think that's what you're seeing these last couple of years."

Villanova finished with 14 assists on 27 field goals. It was 9-of-15 from beyond the 3-point arc (.600) and limited the Owls to .346 shooting for the day.

The Wildcats resume their exam schedule on Monday before returning to action next Saturday afternoon against Syracuse at 1 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center (Fox).

Follow Villanova Basketball on social media

Twitter: @NovaMBB #NovaMBB

Instagram: @novambb