La Salle Explorers vs Villanova Wildcats Match Player Stats On Dec 01, 2019

Freshman Justin Moore had 25 points and five steals, Saddiq Bey added 19 points and 10 rebounds and No. 22 Villanova defeated Big 5 rival La Salle 83-72 Sunday on the Main Line in Philadelphia.

Collin Gillespie scored 14 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, who improved to 5-2.

Ed Croswell paced La Salle with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and David Beatty added 12 points before fouling out.

The Explorers (4-3) haven't beaten Villanova since 2012.

Villanova used a 17-1 run to take a 24-14 lead when Bryan Antoine hit a layup with 9:32 remaining in the first half.

Saul Phiri responded with a deep 3-pointer for La Salle to close within 24-17.

Robinson-Earl received a pass in the low post, spun around his defender and dunked for a 30-20 Villanova advantage with 7:30 left. Two free throws by Gillespie, another dunk by Robinson-Earl and a slam by Bey extended the Wildcats' lead to 36-20, prompting La Salle head coach Ashley Howard to take a timeout.

The Explorers committed nine turnovers in the first half and trailed 48-28 heading into the locker room. Moore powered the Wildcats with 15 first half points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Croswell scored in the low post twice to get La Salle within 50-36 early in the second half. The Explorers' defense became stingier and forced the Wildcats into a rare set of back-to-back turnovers.

Beatty later threw down a two-handed dunk with 13:05 remaining to cap a 10-0 run and cut the Villanova advantage to 50-40.

The Wildcats snapped a scoring drought of more than 6 1/2 minutes when Moore drilled a 3-pointer from the wing for a 53-40 advantage with 11:48 left. On Villanova's next possession, Moore drove to the basket and finished with a nifty left-handed layup for a 15-point lead at 55-40.

Croswell knocked down two free throws with 2:56 to go, but the Explorers still trailed 71-61. They got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

--Field Level Media