Villanova downs Temple to set Big 5 record

Villanova 101
Temple 93
(box score)

Temple: 4-5 (0-0 A10, 0-1 B5)
#21 Villanova: 7-1 (0-0 BE, 2-0 B5)

Next game: vs. Hartford, 12/14 at the Pavilion.

Villanova set the all-time record for consecutive Big 5 wins Sunday night with a victory over the Temple Owls at the Liacouras Center, giving the Wildcats 13 straight wins in the Philadelphia city series.

The Wildcat offense exploded for 101 points just one game after it suffered from extreme sluggishness in the Wachovia Center.



Scottie Reynolds played his best game of the season, and led the Wildcats in points, rebounds, assists, and steals in a truly dominating performance. The rest of the Villanova backcourt also played well, and we even saw freshman Corey Stokes hit a pair of three pointers to shoot 100 percent from the field.

The win was fairly convincing, but there was a stretch late in the game when Villanova allowed Temple to come partially back from a much wider margin. The Wildcats were able to hold off the comeback and close out the game.

Congratulations to reader "Snig Li" for most closely predicting the game's final score.

Next up for Villanova is the non-conference "cupcake" game against Hartford at the Pavilion on Friday night.

On to the player grades. "READ MORE" below for player performance grades and analysis.

• Scottie Reynolds (S, 37 min)

  You could call this a break-out game for Reynolds if he hadn't excelled so consistently last year and throughout this season. Still, this was a particularly dominating performance. Reynolds led all scorers with 27 points on outstanding 8-12 shooting. He was also 4-7 from the three. Reynolds led the Wildcats in rebounds, with 6, and in assists, with 9. Several beautiful passes that he made were not finished for buckets, or the assist total would have been even higher. Reynolds also led the team in steals, with 3. Scottie did make some misguided passes and dribble moves, resulting in 3 turnovers, but he made up for it with his hustle and defensive effort. Most important, Reynolds was able to rebound from his free-throw woes last week with a 7-7 performance from the line Sunday.
  Grade: A
  
  

• Shane Clark (S, 36 min)

  Clark has demonstrated that he can make and create the mid-range jumper, and that he can also drain the three ball when set up along the perimeter by a teammate. Clark played a good game against Temple, scoring 17 points on 5-10 shooting, including 1-1 from three and 6-7 from the foul line. He added 4 rebounds, an assist, and 2 turnovers.
  Grade: B




• Dante Cunningham (S, 28 min)

  Cunningham played a quiet but altogether serviceable game Sunday. He shot 3-5 from the field to score 7 points, but it was often Antonio Pena finishing inside instead of Cunningham. As long as the ball is going in the hoop, though, it hardly matters.
  Grade: C




• Corey Fisher (S, 27 min)

  Fisher started the game on fire, scoring 10 points in the early minutes. He cooled off a bit thereafter, but ran the offense well from the point. He scored 16 points on 5-12 shooting, and shot 2-5 from the three. He also was a perfect 4-4 from the foul line. He handled the ball well, dishing out 5 assists and committing just 2 turnovers. Fisher defended well, and came up with 2 steals. One disappointing play occurred when Corey grabbed a steal and had a breakaway with no defenders in front of him, but could not finish the layup. Luckily, trailer Reggie Redding put the tip in. Hopefully that missed layup was a fluke, because Fisher finished several such run-outs successfully in high school.
  Grade: B+




• Reggie Redding (S, 21 min)

  Redding really struggled on the offensive end against the Owls, shooting 1-6 from the field. He was 0-2 from the three and 0-1 at the free throw line. Aside from his offensive woes, Redding played a decent game. He had 3 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and 2 turnovers. He handled the ball adequately, and generally played good defense, except for a few times when he failed to get back out to the perimeter to defend against a threeball in progress.
  Grade: C-
  
  

• Corey Stokes (17 min)

  Stokes played a mistake-free game on offense, and looks like he is growing much more comfortable on both side of the ball with t he Wildcats. He hit both shots he took, a pair of three pointers, and was a perfect 2-2 from the line to score 8 points. He grabbed 4 rebounds and added 2 assists and a steal. He handled the ball well, making no turnovers. His defense left a little to be desired, as he looked a step behind on the perimeter; hopefully that lack of quickness can be made up for by better anticipation in future efforts.
  Grade: B




• Antonio Pena (16 min)

  Pena was the beneficiary of some beautiful Reynolds and Fisher feeds down low, and he enjoyed several open dunks. Pena played a brilliant game, scoring 17 points on 7-8 shooting, including 1-1 from the three. He also sank both his free throws. Pena added 4 rebounds, a block, and a steal, and played well overall both in the paint and on the wing. Expect some major minutes from Pena in conference play, if he hasn't already cracked the starting lineup by then.
  Grade: B+




• Malcolm Grant (12 min)

  Grant, fresh off his late-game heroics vs. LSU, was thankfully not needed to perform any miracles Sunday. He played good defense in his 12 minutes, but was a little quiet on the offensive side of the ball. Grant shot 1-4, including 1-2 from the three to score 5 points. He added an assist and a rebound. Personally, I would like to see more minutes for Malcolm Grant, because good things seem to happen when he is on the floor.
  Grade: B-




• Casiem Drummond (6 min)

  Drummond struggled with a minor foot injury and foul trouble, so his minutes were severely limited. He looked decent in his short stretch of playing time, scoring 2 on 1-3 shooting. He still needs to improve his free throw stroke (0-2 Sunday), but his presence down low is a positive.
  Grade: C-




• Incomplete grades: none.



• Did not play:
  Andrew Ott, Dwayne Anderson, Jason Colenda, Frank Tchuisi.