Final Score: Villanova 94, Temple 65
 
'Cats on a Roll
 
Villanova grabbed hold of this contest early in the first half behind the scoring of Eric Dixon and tidy defense. It extended its margin to 45-29 at halftime and then outscored the Owls early in the second half 12-7 in the early minutes to grab a comfortable lead. It was never really threatened again in the middle game of the Big Five Classic tripleheader at Wells Fargo Center.
 
Dixon finished with 24 points – his eighth 20-points or more performances in nine outings this season. Villanova drained a season-high 19 3-pointers in 30 attempts (.633). Wooga Poplar added 18 points and the Wildcats controlled the glass, accumulating 37 rebounds to Temple's 28 caroms.
 
The win was Villanova's third in a row. It improved to 39-0 since 2006 when dropping in 15 or more 3-pointers in a game. It has now done so three times in the last five games.
 
It also stymied the Owls, limiting Temple to 20-of-54 shooting on the day (.304).
 
"I thought our guys came out really focused defensively in the first half," said Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "They made it really tough to get easy shots. (Temple) presented a unique challenge because they have multiple players who can go isolate and score on their own. It was pretty impressive – and scary – watching them on tape.
 
"I give our guys a lot of credit. We were able to take them out of what they wanted to do offensively. We made shots as well. That definitely didn't hurt."
 
Crisp Opening
 
The two teams traded baskets in the first minute – and each squad's bucket was followed by streamers from the respective student sections at Wells Fargo Center – before VU reeled off seven straight points to grab a 9-2 advantage. Enoch Boakye's blocked shot was central to the early burst.
 
Three-pointers by Dixon on consecutive possessions helped Villanova add to its advantage, building a 21-10 advantage after 8:37 of game action. The only sour note in that stretch for the Wildcats came when Boakye was whistled for his second foul. He headed to the bench at that point, replaced by Nnanna Njoku.
 
Owls Pushed Back
 
Temple began to get its offense – which averaged better than 79 ppg entering this matchup – in gear midway through the period. Steve Settle (nine points) and Jamal Mashburn Jr. (seven points) did the bulk of the damage. A Dixon bucket snapped a 6-0 run and allowed Villanova to take a 26-18 lead into the U8 media break.
 
A pair of triples from Tyler Perkins nudged the Wildcats to a 32-18 before Mashburn Jr. sank his second of the day to cut the gap to 32-21 before an Owls' timeout. A Jordan Longino bucket made it 34-21 at the 3:32 mark of the first half. Perkins picked up his second foul of the period – Mashburn converted the pair - and headed to the bench to join Boakye.
 
The Wildcats scored the final points of the period on a Wooga Poplar dunk to take a 45-29 lead into their locker room at halftime.
 
At the root of the lead was a strong defensive effort that limited the Owls to 9-of-30 shooting from the field (.300). Meanwhile, the Wildcats sank 8-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc (.636) with four players – Dixon, Poplar, Perkins and Kris Parker – all connecting from deep. Villanova also enjoyed a 13-5 edge in bench scoring over the first 20 minutes.
 
"We're getting a lot better defensively," said Neptune. "We have a team that can make shots. If that happens every night, great. But we're really buying in defensively right now and even when you aren't making shots, that gives you a chance."
 
The 45 first half points were a Villanova season high.
 
Kept It Going:
 
Villanova outscored Temple 12-7 over the first 4:29 of the second half, capped by the fourth triple of the day by Perkins. At that point the 'Cats lead was 57-36.
 
Villanova kept the heat on offensively, pouring in 49 points over the final 20 minutes.
 
Jordan Longino added 14 points while Perkins ended the evening with 12 points. Freshman guard Aleksandar Gavalyugov sank the final two 3-pointers of the night, giving him six points in six minutes.
 
Up Next
 
Villanova returns to Finneran Pavilion to host FDU Wednesday night in its final non-conference regular season contest of 2024-25 at 7 p.m. The game will be carried nationally on FS1 and aired on the Villanova Sports Network on IHeart.