The thought, however unlikely it seemed before tip-off, probably lingered in the minds of most in the Palestra Tuesday night.
Newly-crowned No. 1 Villanova looked beatable in a “road” game against a cross-city opponent, La Salle.
A streak of 16 consecutive city series wins was on the line. And surely that No. 1 ranking would disappear next week with a loss.
But like many of the 16 previous games, Villanova finally wore down its opponent. At least enough to hold on for a win.
Behind a career-high 26 points from Jalen Brunson, 21 from Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges’ 16, Villanova earned an 89-79 win over an Explorers team that quite simply refused to go away.
La Salle, which trailed just 40-36 at halftime, got a career-high 27 from Pookie Powell, who made three three-pointers to keep the Explorers close.
Powell’s layup with 1:55 left got La Salle within five, 75-70. But Brunson responded with a tough finish through traffic.
A three-pointer from La Salle’s Jordan Price made it 77-73 with 1:19 left.
But Villanova was able to connect on two lengthy inbounds passes, one to Bridges and one to Hart, to lead to easy points down the other end to help preserve a win.
Turning point
In a game that needed one to determine a winner, Villanova used a 9-0 run (which started with the Wildcats up, 44-42) in less than 2½ minutes early in the second half to finally create some separation. Separation the Wildcats would need down the stretch.
In the middle of the run, Brunson hit Donte DiVincenzo with a backdoor, alley-oop pass that gave Villanova a 48-42 lead.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Eric Paschall and Kris Jenkins put Villanova ahead by 11, 53-42, with 12:03 to go and the Wildcats never looked back. Their lead never shrunk below four the rest of the night.
The run came during a five-minute, 23-second La Salle FG drought.
Inside the box score
• La Salle shot 57.1 percent (16 for 28) from the floor in the first half to keep the game close in what was one of Villanova’s worst defensive halfs of the young season.
• Villanova entered Tuesday’s game with 117 assists on 222 makes (53 percent) this year. In Tuesday’s first half, Villanova got just five assists on 16 makes from the floor. The Wildcats got their offensive rhythm going in the second half, recording 10 assists on 18 made baskets.
• Price (18.5 ppg entering Tuesday) was held to single digits (nine points) for just the fourth time over the last two seasons.
• Paschall tied a season high with seven rebounds.
• Villanova won the turnover battle, 11-6, and shot 13 for 16 from the free throw line.
History
In the 66th meeting between the Philly schools, Villanova improved its record to 39-27 all-time against La Salle.
Jay Wright now owns a 14-2 record against the Explorers.
In Palestra history: Villanova became the first No. 1 team to play at the Palestra since North Carolina defeated Penn, 106-71, Dec. 4, 2007.
Up next
Villanova has off until Saturday, when the Wildcats travel to Newark, New Jersey, to take on No. 23 Notre Dame at noon.
The Explorers play Saturday (2 p.m.) in Miami against Georgetown at the Hoophall Miami Invitational.