[youtube]Z-LRQoi0NiU[/youtube]
The first Big 5 game of the season was a classic contest at the Palestra, where a resurgent Penn team hung close with Temple, ultimately losing to the Owls 73-67 in overtime at the Palestra. It was Temple's 5th straight victory over Penn.
Zach Rosen lead all scorers with 27 points to lead the Quakers. He had a chance to win the game with a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation, but the shot didn't go in. The game went into overtime where the Quakers continued to scrap and stay close. Penn pulled within 2 points with 7.1 seconds to play, but a questionable foul call on the inbounds followed by Penn coach Jerome Allen getting a technical for arguing about it, gave Temple enough breathing room to make the short ride home as victors.
Temple was playing without the help of Khalif Wyatt and Scootie Randall. Wyatt was suspended one game for playing in an unsanctioned summer league, while Randall is still working back from a knee injury.
Villanova and La Salle are up next on the Big 5 schedule tonight at 7:00 pm. Last season's game was a close one, could this year's contest be another?
Villanova will not play any Big 5 games at the Palestra this season, since St. Joseph's decided to host their games on-campus.
The full Big 5 Schedule follows:
- Mon. Nov. 14: Temple at Penn (The Palestra), 7 p.m.
- Tue. Nov. 15: La Salle at Villanova (The Pavilion), 7 p.m.
- Sat. Dec. 3: Penn at Villanova (The Pavilion), 7 p.m.
- Sat. Dec. 10: Villanova at Temple (Liacouras Center), 5 p.m.
- Sat. Dec. 17: Villanova at Saint Joseph's (Hagan Arena), 8 p.m.
- Tue. Jan. 10: La Salle at Penn (The Palestra), 7 p.m.
- Sat. Jan. 21: Saint Joseph's at Penn (The Palestra), 7 p.m.
- Sat. Feb. 4: La Salle vs. Saint Joseph's (The Palestra), 2 p.m.
- Wed. Feb. 22: Temple at La Salle (Tom Gola Arena), 7 p.m.
- Sat. Feb. 25: Temple at Saint Joseph's (Hagan Arena), 7 p.m.