Moore, Villanova ride big 1st half past La Salle

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) Justin Moore had 23 points off the bench, Saddiq Bey scored 19 and No. 22 Villanova beat La Salle 83-72 on Sunday night.

Villanova (5-2) went on a 28-6 run midway through the first half to build a 48-28 cushion at halftime. The Explorers closed within 10 twice in the second half thanks to some pesky defense that held the Wildcats without a field goal for over seven minutes. Villanova also committed 12 turnovers in the second half, helping La Salle hang around.

Ed Croswell led La Salle (4-3) with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds. David Beatty had 12 points for the Explorers.

Moore had 15 of his 21 points in the first half to help Villanova build the lead. Bey and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl each had 10 rebounds.

Collin Gillespie contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who have won seven in a row against their Philadelphia Big Five City Series rival and improved to 26-1 since 2012-13 against the four other Division I schools in the unique college basketball association. The only loss in that span for the Wildcats came on Dec. 11, 2018, to Pennsylvania.

BIG PICTURE

La Salle: Coming off a tournament win at the Gulf Coast Showdown last week, the Explorers dropped a game against a Wildcats squad that has bedeviled them for almost 20 years. Still, they have enough talent to make noise in the Atlantic 10.

Villanova: The Wildcats could move up from their No. 22 spot in the AP Top 25 thanks to a chaotic week for teams above them, but the sloppy second half will give coach Jay Wright plenty of reason for concern.

UP NEXT

LaSalle: At Philly rival Drexel on Saturday.

Villanova: Hosts Big Five rival Pennsylvania on Wednesday night.

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