PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Penn held off a series of second half challenges from No. 17 Villanova to down the Wildcats 78-75 on Tuesday night at the Palestra. The loss snapped a record 25 game winning streak in Philadelphia Big Five competition for the Wildcats (8-3 overall, 3-1 Big Five), a stretch that began against Penn in 2012.
 
The Wildcats battled to the final whistle and had one final look at a bid to tie with 1.3 seconds on the clock. But Phil Booth was pressured as he released his attempt from the right corner and it came up short as the final horn sounded.
 
"That was a great college basketball game, a great Big Five game," stated Wildcats head coach Jay Wright. "The outcome just wasn't what we would have liked. We just have to give them credit. They just played a better game. I think they're a better team than we are right now at this point in the season. They're very experienced and we're a team that's growing.
 
"We'll learn a lot from this. It was a great experience for us to learn from."
 
Villanova fell into an early hole, battled back to grab the lead, and then saw Penn re-take the lead midway through the first half. The Wildcats never could reclaim the advantage, despite a repeated surges.
 
Sophomore guard Collin Gillespie led the Wildcats with 21 points while senior Phil Booth added 18 points – all scored in the second half.
 
A pair of 3-pointers by Penn's Bryce Washington helped the Quakers grab an early 8-2 advantage. The Wildcats were hindered by four early turnovers in the first 4:15 of action. The Quakers extended the margin to 14-2 before the Wildcats turned the tide.
 
"They did a great job defensively," said Wright. "They're really disciplined and we never got into an offensive flow."
 
Two Gillespie free throws and a slam by Eric Paschall gave the Wildcats some energy. Stops at the defensive end helped produce better offense in what became a 15-0 run that vaulted the Wildcats to a 17-14 lead after 11 minutes had been played in the first half.
 
A game of spurts then swung back in the Quakers' favor after the exit of Gillespie with his second foul. Penn scored the next seven points, a run capped by a 3-pointer from the right side by Michael Wang.
 
Paschall joined Gillespie on the sidelines after picking up his second foul of the period with just more than five minutes to play. Villanova trailed 24-19 at that point. Penn took a 32-28 lead into its locker room at halftime.
 
Penn's lead in part could be attributed to its work on the glass. The Quakers out-rebounded Villanova 17-10 in the first 20 minutes and eight of those were of the offensive variety. They ended the night with a 33-22 edge in that category.
 
Bey's seven points and the six from Cremo accounted for nearly half of Villanova's first half point total.
 
The early minutes of the second half challenged the Wildcats too. Jermaine Samuels and Cremo both picked up their fourth personal fouls before the first official timeout of the period. Penn outscored VU 10-4 over the first 4:06 of the period to restore its lead to double digits, 42-32.
 
After being held without a point in the first half redshirt senior Phil Booth scored nine points in the first 8:35 of the period. In that stretch, he recorded his 1,000^th career point when he drained a 3-pointer from the right wing. Yet Penn's offense revved up too and the Quakers kept the Wildcats at arm's length, holding a 51-44 lead with 11:25 on the clock.
 
Fouls continued to be an issue. Gillespie picked up his fourth personal and Cremo fouled out with 6:18 to play in the contest. At that juncture Penn held a 61-53 lead.
 
Yet the Wildcats kept pressing their case. A Gillespie triple off a steal narrowed the gap to 63-60 at the 5:18 mark. Penn got that lead back to 68-62 before a Booth 3-pointer with 3:37 to play shaved the deficit to three points. The Wildcats kept pushing but could never pull even.
 
"It was nice while it lasted," stated Wright of the 25-game win streak that ended in the City Series. "But you're always on to the next game. This is the most important one right now. We'll learn from it. It was fun to be a part of it and it will be something we think more about after our careers are over."
 
Next up for Villanova is a visit to No. 1 Kansas Saturday. This rematch of a 2018 NCAA Final Four duel won by the Wildcats will get underway at noon eastern time and air on ESPN and ESPN 610 Radio.