By AARON BRACY
January 21, 2025
VILLANOVA, Pa. – Playing without Wooga Poplar, who was ejected in the first half for throwing a punch at Thomas Sorber, Villanova did not score in the final 4 minutes, 52 seconds in Monday’s 64-63 loss to Georgetown at the Pavilion.
The Wildcats’ Big East loss to the Hoyas wrapped up a 2-1 day in the Big 5.
I will have much more on the Georgetown-Villanova contest in my bi-weekly Inside the Big East column on HoopsHQ.
Below is the nuts and bolts of what happened at Villanova, as well as a roundup of the victories by Penn and Drexel.
–Georgetown 64, Villanova 63: Poplar was tossed with 12:27 remaining in the first half. Players came together in front of Georgetown’s bench, and Archbishop Ryan grad Sorber appeared to elbow Poplar in the midsection. Poplar responded by swinging at Sorber but missing with his left hand. After a review by the officials, Poplar was ejected. It was a huge loss for the Wildcats, as Poplar averaged 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds entering.
Still, Villanova led 63-55 with 4:52 remaining after Jordan Longino’s jumper. But the Wildcats wouldn’t score again, finishing the game missing their final five field goals and one free throw attempt while committing three turnovers. Micah Peavy’s steal and layup with 48 seconds left pulled the Hoyas within a point before Peavy netted the game-winner on a driving layup with 1.7 seconds left.
Eric Dixon had a chance to win it at the buzzer after catching a long inbounds pass, but his shot from the baseline rimmed out. Dixon had 29 points to lead Villanova, shooting 10 of 23 from the field, including 5 of 10 from the arc. Jordan Longino scored 18 points, and Enoch Boakye contributed 12 rebounds.
Tyler Perkins continued his recent struggles. Playing 34 minutes in place of Poplar, the Penn transfer missed all five of his three-point tries, extending his drought from long range to 0 for 25 over the last eight games.
The Wildcats dropped to 12-8 overall, 5-4 in the Big East.
–Drexel 60, Hofstra 55: The Dragons came back from an 11-point, second-half deficit behind 15 points and nine rebounds from Cole Hargrove, and 14 points and eight rebounds from Yame Butler.
The Dragons improved to 11-8 overall, 3-3 in the Coastal Athletic Association.
–Penn 82, Harvard 67: Sam Brown hit a half-court shot to end the first half and then scored 14 more points after halftime, finishing with 19, to lift Penn to its first Ivy League win.
Ethan Roberts led the Quakers with 21 points, and Nick Spinoso had 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Penn had its second-best shooting game of the season from the field and long range, going 29 of 57 (50.9 percent) overall and 11 of 25 (44 percent) from the arc.
The Quakers improved to 5-11 overall, 1-2 in the Ivy.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.