VILLANOVA, Pa.—The Philadelphia City Series’ game between Villanova and La Salle looked like it might be over by halftime after the Wildcats went on a 38-6 run and jumped out to a 50-30 lead.But the Explorers refused to be embarrassed.
Villanova won, 83-72, at the Finneran Pavilion here last night, but the Explorers cut the 22nd-ranked Cats’ lead to 10 twice in the second half, taking advantage of their sloppy play and 12 turnovers. If nothing else, the game gave coach Jay Wright a chance to lecture his team on the memories of Big 5 wars he remembered attending at the Palestra when he was just kid growing up in Bucks County.
“The other four city teams– La Salle, Penn, Temple and St. Joseph’s—aren’t going to give up,’’ Wright said. “There is a huge college basketball tradition in this city. There was a time in the late 60’s and early 70’s when every team in the city could have been ranked. They are not going to give up in these games. They play 40 minutes. Our guys are still learning to do that.
“I doubt if our freshmen—Justin Moore, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Bryan Antoine—know much about Big 5. They’re not from Philly like (junior point guard) Collin Gillespie (from Archbishop Wood). It’s something they need to experience.’’
The last time city schools played every Big 5 games in the Palestra was 35 years ago, in 1985. Since then, the five schools have basically played home and home on campus sites. Villanova will not even play at the Palestra this season.
“I didn’t know much about it other than the fact St. Joseph’s and La Salle and a couple other local teams played in it,’’ Moore, a 6-5 guard from DeMatha Catholic who was the Washington D.C. Player of the Year, admitted.
All they know about city series competition is domination. The Cats won a record 25 consecutive Big 5 games before losing to Penn last December. They are 26-1 against the other city schools since the 2012-2013 season.
“We’ve had different guys who have come up big for us on different nights,’’ Wright said. “It was Justin for us tonight.’’
Moore, who normally starts, came off the bench to light up the Explorers for 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting. Sophomore forward Saddiq Bey had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Gillespie had 14 points while the versatile Robinson-Earl added nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for the young Wildcats (5-2), who do not have a senior on the roster and are still experimenting with a nine-player rotation.
“This is a season of firsts for our guys,’’ Wright said. “None of our juniors had to be go to players last season. And none of our sophomores had to take on leadership roles. But they are learning.’’
Sophomore forward Ed Croswell from Philly St. Joe’s Prep La Salle (4-3) with 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting and 10 rebounds. Junior guard David Beatty, a South Carolina transfer with local roots at Imhotep Charter, had 12 points for the Explorers. “I’m proud of the way we battled,’’ said La Salle coach Ashley Howard, who was an assistant to Wright from 2013-18, a span that included two national titles. “We battled but the first half we let the game get away from us with turnovers and poor transition defense.’’
