Recap: Temple vs. Villanova
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - James Bell scored 19 points to lead No. 9 Villanova to a 90-74 thrashing of Temple.
JayVaughn Pinkston scored 13 points, Darrun Hillard II notched 12 points and Daniel Ochefu added 11 for the Wildcats (19-2).
Will Cummings led all scorers with 24 points for Temple (6-14), which has dropped nine of 10.
Quenton DeCosey tallied 18 points and Anthony Lee deposited a 12-point, 10- rebound double-double in defeat.
These two Big-5 rivals played a tightly contested first half before Villanova opened it up in the second.
Villanova went on a 11-2 run that Pinkston capped with a jumper to give the Wildcats a 19-8 lead midway through the first. Temple went over five minutes without a point during the run, but turned up its defense minutes later en route to a 12-0 run that tied the game.
The Wildcats went over seven minutes without a point as the Owls clawed their way back into the game.
Ryan Arcidiacono hit two 3s around a Cummings jumper to close the half and Villanova led 36-31 at the break.
Hillard followed a Bell 3 with one of his own to stretch the Wildcats' lead to 43-31 early in the second.
"I thought there were a couple of 3s that were made that were guarded, especially with Bell," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "He's really a great catalyst for them. He was the guy that I was most concerned about."
A 14-0 Villanova run minutes later helped the Wildcats build a 22-point cushion. Temple couldn't cut into the deficit as Villanova had an answer for everything the Owls threw at them.