Overview
 
Trailing 37-33 early in the second half, Villanova guard Acaden Lewis – this week's BIG EAST Freshman of the Week – ignited a 9-0 burst that gave Villanova back the lead over Temple. It never trailed again on its way to a 74-56 win over the Owls (4-4 overall, 1-1 Big Five).
 
The Wildcats outscored the Owls 45-28 over the final 20 minutes.
 
The win secures a spot in Saturday night's championship game of the Big Five Classic against Penn at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7:30 p.m.).
 
Part of the credit went to an improved defensive effort by the Wildcats that mostly held Temple in check, limiting it to 56 points and .435 shooting from the floor. This was Nova's sixth straight win after a season opening 71-66 loss to BYU in Las Vegas.
 
D's The Deal
 
A Tyler Perkins 3-pointer provided the night's first points, and Villanova slowly crafted a 17-12 advantage midway through the period. Former Owl Zion Stanford gave Nova a lift off the bench, scoring on a drive for two points and then adding a nifty assist by finding Duke Brennan – back from a one-game absence due to an ankle injury – for a basket.
 
Both teams entered this contest scoring at a prodigious clip. Temple averaged 80.0 ppg while the Wildcats were a shade better than that at 83.3 ppg.
 
Yet it was defense that mattered most over the first 20 minutes. The Owls were 5-of-14 from the field in the opening 12 minutes (.357) while Nova was 7-of-19 (.368). Temple forced five Villanova turnovers while the Owls committed four of their own.
 
Villanova nudged its margin to 21-14 but the Owls – who did damage at the free throw line (6-of-7) – put together a spurt to close the gap to 21-20 at the 3:44 mark of the first period. Temple claimed its first lead of the night with 2:31 to play in the half, 24-23. At the time, Brennan and Lewis were both on the bench with two fouls.
 
Bryce Lindsay sank a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock and that was followed by one by Perkins to give VU a 29-26 lead. The Owls got a basket from Jordan Mason to pull to within 29-28 at intermission.
 
Halftime Numbers
 
Temple clawed its way back to within a point with its work inside the 3-point line, where it was 11-of-20 from the field in the first half.
 
Meanwhile, Villanova struggled to find an offensive flow. It connected on 11-of-31 from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 5-of-16 from beyond the arc. Temple forced eight Wildcats turnovers and enjoyed an 18-12 advantage in points in the paint.
 
The Wildcats held the lead thanks to those five made from deep. Temple was 0-of-4 from distance in the first half.
 
The 29 points were the fewest Villanova scored in the first half to this point in the young season.
 
Lewis Leads a Surge
 
The Wildcats got a basket from Lewis on their opening possession of the second half. However, a short while later they struggled through a 0-of-5 stretch from the floor. That allowed Temple to build its biggest lead of the evening, 37-33, after 4:03 of the second half.
 
That's when the rookie had his biggest impact. Lewis was the catalyst for a 9-0 run that helped lift Villanova back into a 44-39 lead with 13:47 on the clock. He scored on a drive, dropped in a field goal and then helped facilitate 3-pointers from Devin Askew and Perkins. His defensive pressure on the ball resulted in one steal and a handful of transition chances for his team.
 
Temple answered with a 3-pointer from Aiden Tobiason before a Brennan dunk made it 46-42. Lewis then fired a pass to Brennan for an easy deuce to make it 48-42. That margin grew to 55-46 before the Owls sank their third triple in four second half attempts to shave the lead to 55-49 with 7:13 remaining in the period.
 
But Villanova, which used 11 players, never allowed the Owls to get closer, slowly wearing down its opponent.
 
Malachi Mattered
 
Sophomore Malachi Palmer made the most of his 16:30, scoring three points to go with four rebounds and a +18 raging when he was on the court.
 
Stat Stuff
 
Lewis ended the evening with 12 points, eight assists and zero turnovers. Brennan added 14 points and eight caroms in his return to the court. Perkins paced all scorers with 19 points.
 
What They Said
 
Head Coach Kevin Willard: "I was happy at halftime. If we had made some layups, we could have been up 12-14 points. That's a Temple team that can score at four positions. They have good guards. Ford and Mason are big, strong guards. (Our) defense was a step in the right direction."
 
Perkins: "I'm just glad we got the win. I credit my teammates for setting me up to put me in positions to score."
 
Willard on advancing to the Big Five Classic title game: "We talked about it the other day. Where we are trying to get this program back to, you've got to learn to win games that matter. To play Penn for the Big Five championship is an opportunity for this team, especially in today's world with 13 guys who are basically brand new, to learn what it's all about."