By AARON BRACY
March 3, 2024
Big5Hoops.com
All six Big 5 teams were in action on Saturday. I was at Hagan Arena, where Saint Joseph’s defeated Fordham. But I was following the action of the entire city throughout the day. Here’s a look at what happened on Saturday, and the implications of it all.
Villanova 71, Providence 60
The Wildcats continued their impressive play with their sixth win in the last eight games while playing for their NCAA tournament lives. The victory moved Villanova into the tournament field in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket projection. They still have work to do to stay there and will need at least one win in the final two regular-season games, Wednesday at Seton Hall and Saturday vs. No. 12 Creighton, and probably a first-round win in the Big East tournament to secure an NCAA bid.
Against the Friars, the Wildcats (17-12 10-8 Big East) turned a three-point halftime deficit into a 13-point lead with an 18-2 run to start the second half that was capped by Brendan Hausen’s 3-pointer with 13:20 remaining. Villanova held Providence to 23 second-half points.
Justin Moore led three Wildcats in double-figures with 15 points, while making 4 of 6 3-pointers. Eric Dixon had 11 points, Mark Armstrong added 10 and Hausen chipped in three 3-pointers for nine points.
“I’m just cherishing every moment and every day with this team and this coaching staff knowing it’s coming to an end,” Moore said.
Villanova was an impressive 13 of 23 (56.5 percent) from 3-point range.
“We have a resilient bunch of guys,” coach Kyle Neptune said. “We’ve been through a lot together as a unit, and I think it’s really hardened us over this year. Our goal is always to be the best by the end, and I think we’re trending that way.”
Saint Joseph’s 82, Fordham 69
The Hawks (18-11, 8-8 Atlantic 10) raced out to a 41-15 lead with 4:17 left in the first half. The early start featured a poster dunk by Lynn Greer III with 6:17 remaining in the first. The Rams clawed back to within seven points with 13:46 left in the game on Kyle Rose’s two free throws, but the Hawks did enough down the stretch.
Erik Reynolds II continued his form displayed in the second half in Sunday’s loss at VCU when he broke out of a shooting slump with 21 second-half points. Reynolds hit a pair of 3-pointers to open the game against Fordham and finished with 14 points. He’s 10 of 19 (52.6 percent) from 3-point range the last two games after going 7 of 39 (17.9 percent) the previous seven. This is a great sign for the Hawks, who have a pair of regular-season games left, Wednesday at Richmond and Saturday vs. Davidson, before heading to Brooklyn for the A-10 tournament.
“It feels good,” Reynolds said. “I always give the credit to my teammates because they always tell me to keep going, never tell me to stop. Any time I would look a certain way, they pick me right back up. It definitely feels good.”
Kacper Klaczek gave St. Joe’s a boost off the bench, leading five Hawks in double-figures with 16 points. Cameron Brown had 15, Greer scored 13 and Xzayvier Brown netted 10.
Rose, a former teammate of Cameron Brown’s at Roosevelt High School in Maryland, had 31 points for Fordham.
The Hawks are going to be a problem in Brooklyn if they can bottle their first half at VCU and their first 26 minutes against Fordham into a full 40 minutes.
“I thought that was a good, focused effort,” Hawks coach Billy Lange said. “The group is confident, they always are. These were steps in the right direction.”
St. Joe’s currently is tied for 7th place in the A-10 standings and can finish as high as fifth in the league.
La Salle 62, George Washington 66
The Explorers (15-15, 6-11 A-10) won their fourth in the last five and got another strong performance from Daeshon Shepherd, who had 12 points and five rebounds. Shepherd has scored in double-figures in seven straight contests, averaging 15.7 points per game over that stretch, to raise his season average to 10.7 points per game. Prior to the stretch, he had a pair of scoreless outings, on Feb. 3 against St. Joe’s and Feb. 7 versus St. Louis.
The game marked the Explorers’ final contest in Tom Gola Arena, which will be renovated after the season.
“There’s a lot of history and tradition here,” coach Fran Dunphy said. “I’m grateful for that and be a very small part of that.”
The Explorers, who are in 11th place in the A-10, finish the regular season on Saturday at Loyola-Chicago.
Drexel 73, Northeastern 59
The Dragons (20-11, 13-5 CAA) clinched the No. 2 seed in the Coastal Athletic Conference while earning their 20th win of the season. Luke House led Drexel with 23 points on 8 of 14 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range.
Drexel next will play on Sunday, March 10, in the CAA quarterfinals against the winner of Saturday’s Stony Brook/Northeastern matchup. A reminder that Big5Hoops.com will be with the Dragons in D.C.
Penn 84, Columbia 72
Nick Spinoso had 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Quakers (11-17, 3-10). Clark Slajchert chipped in 22 points on 4 of 5 3-point shooting, and Tyler Perkins scored 13. Penn already has been eliminated from the Ivy Madness tournament, which features the league’s top four teams competing for the conference’s automatic NCAA bid. Penn wraps up its season at home against Princeton next Saturday.
Tulsa 72, Temple 67
Hysier Miller had 19 points to lead three players in double-figures for the Owls (11-18, 4-12 AAC). Temple has a pair of games remaining, Thursday versus UAB and Sunday at UTSA, before the AAC tourney.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Big5Hoops.com is his second website dedicated to Philadelphia college basketball. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages.