Anthony Lee (3) had a big game inside for the Owls in their win over Duke. (Josh Verlin/Philahoops)
By AARON BRACY
Philahoops Editor
Twitter: @Aaron_Bracy
They have been playing college basketball in Philadelphia for 100 years or more and never has there been a night like Wednesday.
-Temple upsets No. 5 Duke. Check.
-La Salle sends A-10 favorite Xavier packing. Check.
-St. Joe’s comes back from 16 down to beat Duquesne. Check.
-Drexel holds Towson to 27 points – 27! – in win. Check.
-Penn survives seven straight 3-pointers in victory over Lafayette. Check.
Check, check, check, check, check!
Count ’em. That’s five checks on an unbelievable 5-0 night for Philly college hoops.
The song says it was late December back in ’63.
Philadelphia college basketball fans will remember early January in ’12.
Oh what a night indeed!
In the long, storied history of Philadelphia college basketball, it’s hard to believe there ever was a night when five citiy schools won games.
Think about that for a second. Five wins in one night. Amazing.
The Owls’ victory will resonate the loudest nationally, with short-handed Temple somehow managing to overcome its shortcomings and the absence of much-needed big man Micheal Eric to turn back the premier program in the country at a packed Wells Fargo Center.
It will be overlooked due to the Owls triumph, but La Salle scored one of the program’s greatest wins in the last 20 years and showed everyone in the Atlantic 10 – and beyond – that these Explorers are legit with a pulsating 80-70 win over league power Xavier. Ramon Galloway put on a defensive display, limiting Musketeers great Tu Holloway to 2-for-12 shooting, while scoring 16 points to put himself in the conversation for first-team A-10 postseason honors.
St. Joe’s somehow pulled out of a malaise and battled out of a 16-point second-half deficit to open its A-10 season with a crucial league win against a Duquesne team playing without second-leading scorer B.J. Monteiro. Remember, it was the Dukes who sent the Hawks on a defining nine-game losing streak – including eight in the A-10 – with a league-opening victory over SJU at Hagan last season. A loss to the Dukes would have derailed the good feelings Phil Martelli’s young Hawks have built up in their out-of-conference schedule.
And what to make of Drexel? Sure Towson is bad – winless since a victory over La Salle last December – but it is highly impressive accomplishment to hold a team to 27 points in any era, let alone the one with the shot clock and 3-pointers. Bruiser Flint was bemoaning this group’s lack of defensive skill last week, and the Dragons sure made up for it on Wednesday night with the confidence-building CAA victory that put those two losses to start the league schedule in the rear-view mirror.
And, finally, Penn took a breath from its brutal schedule against a Lafayette team that always gives opponents fits with its well-coached style of play and managed to run out of Easton, Pa., with a 78-73 win in a game in which coach Jerome Allen was so fed up at one point that he pulled all five of his starters.
Five games.
Five wins.
Oh what a night.
Oh what a night, indeed.
-Aaron Bracy is the editor of Philahoops. Reach him at philahoops@gmail.com. Follow on Twitter: @Aaron_Bracy and Facebook: Facebook.com/Philahoops
Not sure how you managed to write this article without any typos. Your fingers had to be jumping with excitement.
Wow!
Props for avoiding the Four Seasons reference. :)