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Brunson’s 25 points lead No. 1 Villanova over Temple 83-67

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Jalen Brunson scored a season-high 25 points against his dad’s old team, leading No. 1 Villanova over Temple 83-67 Wednesday night.

Daniel Ochefu had 16 points and nine rebounds and Kris Jenkins added 15 points as the Wildcats (23-3) won their sixth in a row. Villanova took its 14th straight game in the Philadelphia Big 5 to claim its third consecutive city series title.

Brunson is the son of former Temple star Rick Brunson. The freshman guard drew jeers from the crowd after spurning his father’s alma mater for Villanova.

The booing didn’t affect his aim, though. He made 9 of 11 shots, including 4 of 5 on 3-pointers.

Trey Lowe scored a career-high 21 points for Temple (16-9).

The Wildcats got a huge lift from Brunson, especially after halftime when they shot 53 percent from the field. He scored 17 following the break.

Villanova scored the first seven points of the second half for a 42-23 lead. The Wildcats took their biggest lead on Darryl Reynolds’ two free throws that made it 63-40 with 10:10 remaining.

Temple responded with 13 of the next 15 points and was within 65-53 after on Lowe’s 3-pointer from the right wing. The Owls never got closer than 11.

Villanova was up 35-23 at halftime despite just two points from Josh Hart, who entered averaging 15.2 points per game. He finished with four points.

TIP-INS

Villanova: The Wildcats improved to 47-43 in the all-time series. . The Wildcats’ three losses have come to Providence at home, at Virginia and to Oklahoma in Hawaii.

Temple: Denver Broncos placekicker and Temple alum Brandon McManus was in attendance. . The Owls fell to 2-15 all-time against No. 1 teams, with the wins coming over Kansas during the 1995-96 season and Cincinnati during 1999-00. Temple also lost to then-No. 1 North Carolina in its season opener this season, 91-67. . The standing-room only crowd of 10,472 set a record for Temple’s Liacouras Center.

UP NEXT

Villanova: Hosts Butler on Saturday afternoon.

Temple: At Houston on Sunday night.