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PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Big 5 is one of college basketball's richest and most storied traditions. Another treasure was added to the vault on Saturday afternoon, as La Salle edged Temple, 74-68, in front of a sold out crowd at the Palestra. The game played host to ESPN College GameDay and was nationally televised on ESPN2.

On a day when thousands of college basketball fans in Philadelphia woke up before the rooster to soak in the ESPN GameDay experience, the quality of the game itself matched the intensity of the atmosphere. But the noise in the 88-year old arena reached a fever pitch long before tipoff, when Digger Phelps juiced up the crowd with an impromptu pep rally before the pregame show began on ESPNU.

Rece Davis and Jay Bilas interviewed the head coaches of both schools live pregame, Dr. John Giannini and Fran Dunphy, who spoke of the pride that Philadelphia possesses in the world of college basketball. It was a national television opportunity the Big 5 deserved.

By high noon, 8,722 fans in all packed the nation's most historic arena. Half wore gold. The other half cherry. The "split house" at the Palestra goes back as far as the Big 5 itself, and it was a sight to behold.

"This is unique," La Salle head coach Dr. John Giannini said postgame. "It's a split house and you're in the most historic building in the country.

"This is not normal in a good way. It's wonderful."

The Explorers, wearing their vintage throwback uniforms, won the tip, and the game began with a furious pace that couldn't possibly be sustained for 40 minutes. La Salle led 10-5 at the first media timeout and trailed 21-19 at the second with 11:03 remaining in the half. Junior Jerrell Wright bucketed 11 of the Explorer's first 14 points.

Temple opened up a 31-26 lead behind a trio of treys from Dalton Pepper. But the Explorers held the Owls scoreless for the last four minutes of the half and ended with a 10-0 run. They jogged to the locker room with all the momentum.

La Salle maintained a close watch over the lead in the second half, leading by as many as 11 (59-48). Senior Tyreek Duren was his cerebral self, scoring 14 points and dishing out 5 assists in the second half alone. Temple brandished their own second half hero, sophomore Quenton DeCosey, who tallied 16 points in the period. His layup with 1:13 remaining cut the La Salle lead to 70-66.

It proved too little too late. Duren, along with fellow senior Tyrone Garland, each drained a pair of free throws in the waning seconds to lengthen the lead to 74-68, the final score.

"It's what they've done their whole career," Giannini said of his two senior guards. "They came through and they should feel great about themselves and the team."

When the final buzzer sounded, the battle-tested Explorers were engulfed by a sea of gold, embraced by the student section as the La Salle fight song blared.

"The game itself was a true battle," Giannini said. "We had to battle our hearts out and we're really fortunate we got the win."

In addition to an exhilarating basketball game, Saturday provided the nation a snapshot of the Big 5 and its revered home. It was a delightful scene, especially considering the legend of the Big 5 has waned in the eyes of many.

 "I just don't know why you wouldn't want to keep that tradition going," Giannini said.

The Big 5 had itself another instant classic. 

"It's just an awesome experience," Giannini said. "There's nothing else like it – in Chicago, New York, or LA."

Just Philly.