Recap: Temple vs. Villanova
Sports Network | December 13, 2009
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Juan Fernandez hit seven three-pointers en route to a 33-point effort, carrying Temple to a thrilling 75-65 victory over Big 5 rival and previously unbeaten No. 3 Villanova in front of a raucous Liacouras Center.
Ryan Brooks netted 20 points, while Lavoy Allen ended with 10 points and 17 rebounds for the Owls (8-2), who have won four straight and improved to 4-0 at home this season.
"Occasionally he does get unconscious and he was unconscious today," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said of Fernandez. "We are not going to win a game like that without terrific play from a number of guys and Juan was exceptional and that is what you need to beat a really good basketball team."
Scottie Reynolds logged 23 points and seven boards, while Antonio Pena and Corey Fisher chipped in 16 and 14 points, respectively, for the Wildcats (9-1), who had a four-game winning streak over Temple snapped.
"We were going to get our first loss at sometime," said Villanova coach Jay Wright. "This team was not going to go undefeated, I can promise you that. It's good we get it now. We're going to learn from it."
The Owls trailed 37-31 at the break but scored 11 straight points in less than a two-minute stretch early in the second half, as Craig Williams bookended the spurt with three-pointers for a five-point lead the hosts never relinquished.
Fisher scored Villanova's first bucket of the half nearly four minutes in, and it was no more than a two-possession game for nearly 15 minutes.
After a layup from Fisher cut the visitors' deficit to 63-61 with under 4 1/2 minutes remaining, Fernandez answered with a three from the left wing.
Pena made two free throws, and Brooks hit consecutive field goals around a Reynolds missed three, the latter for a 70-63 lead with 1:38 to play.
Coming out of a Villanova timeout, Allen's block gave the Owls the ball back. Though Rahlir Jefferson made just 1-of-2 free throws, Pena's bucket at the other end with 53 seconds remaining proved to be Villanova's last, leading to the a relatively small group of students storming the court as time expired.
Reynolds and Fisher each hit from behind the arc in the early stages as Villanova jumped out to a 7-2 lead.
A Fisher layup capped a 10-0 burst later in the stanza for a 33-19 lead with under 4 1/2 minutes left, but the Owls were able to chip away, eventually pulling within seven at intermission.
This was the Owls' first win over a top-five team since toppling then top- ranked Cincinnati on the road on February 20, 2000...Villanova still leads the all-time series, 42-40...Villanova won its other three games in its Big Five slate, while this was Temple's first intra-city affair of the season...The Owls shot 54.2 percent from the floor, including 11-of-22 from three-point range...Villanova connected on 8-of-24 from long distance, ending with an overall 42.9-percent shooting effort...Fisher also had seven assists...Fernandez came into the game averaging just 10.6 points per contest.
