Big East Sports Blog

Make it 14 and counting for No.16 Villanova against the Big 5.  The Wildcats won their 14th straight game over a Big 5 foe, dropping LaSalle on Saturday night 71-58.  The last time Villanova lost to a Big 5 team was a 53-52 lost in December of 2004 against Temple.  The win improves the Wildcats to 10-1, who have won six in a row and six straight over LaSalle.  Villanova went a perfect 6-0 in December.

Super sophomore Scottie Reynolds led Villanova with 19 points, with Corey Fisher adding 18 and Dante Cunningham chipping in with 12 points and 12 rebounds.  The Wildcats held the Explorers to 38 percent shooting, with LaSalle coughing up the basketball 22 times.  Villanova used a 13-0 run to comfortably lead at the break 43-30.

Villanova will begin Big East play on Jan. 3rd on the road against DePaul.  18 of their final 19 games remaining on the schedule will be against Big East opponents.

DePaul ended the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico this weekend on a positive note, defeating LaSalle 93-88 on Saturday afternoon, snapping their five game losing streak and notching their first since since Nov. 28th.

The tag team of Karron Clarke and Draelon Burns spear-headed the offensive attack for the Blue Demons.  Clarke poured in a game-high 25 points and Burns added 20.  DePaul finally got a much needed balanced offensive attack they’ve been longing for, with six players reaching double figures in scoring. 

Darnell Harris led the Explores with 21 points, and Ruben Guillandeaux added 16 points.  LaSalle trailed big in the first half, down by as many as 16, but used a late surge to cut DePaul’s lead to five at halftime, 50-45.

DePaul took great care of the basketball, only turning the ball over seven times all day.  They connected on 11 three-pointers, and finished with 13 steals, led by Will Walker with four steals in the ballgame.

It was the second time in as many days LaSalle trailed by a double-digit margin, only to erase the deficit to take the lead.  Today, they fought back and held a 72-70 lead with under eight minutes to play, only to have DePaul take the lead on a three-pointer and went up for good with under eight minutes to play in the second half.

LaSalle lost for the second straight day, falling to 4-6 on the season.  On Friday, they lost to Mississippi 84-77.

DePaul will enjoy a full week off, and they’ll return to the hardwood next Saturday, Dec. 29th at 4 p.m. when they travel to Detroit to take on the Titans.