Rodney Green tied with Harris for the scoring leader with 12 points and pulled down 6 boards against the Wildcats.

St. John hits another crucial three this year. He scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds against the Wildcats

Mekongo Mbala leads the team in rebounds with 5.3 boards per game

PHILADELPHIA - The Wildcats scored the first 10 points of the game before Darnell Harris (Baltimore, MD/St. Frances) hit a jumper with 15:37 left in the opening half to make the score 10-2. 

The Explorers would cut the 19-point deficit to 11 (37-26) at the break despite turning the ball over 12 times in the first 20 minutes.

The second half started with a 15-4 Explorer run that ended with Harris nailing the team's first three pointer of the game to tie the score at 41-41 with 14:55 to play.  The Explorers had three opportunities to take their first lead of the game but missed all three shots before Shane Clark's lay-up reclaimed the lead for Villanova at 13:17.

The Explorers would not be able to pull even again but had two chances to take the lead when Harris' three-pointer rimmed out with the score 48-46 with 8:36 to play.  Just over two minutes later freshman Yves Mekongo Mbala (Elizabeth, NJ/St. Patrick's) launched a shot the met the same fate and the Explorers continued to trail.

The Explorers would cut the lead to three points again (54-51) at the 3:17 point but the Wildcats would rattle off ten unanswered points to end the game.

Harris and freshman Rodney Green (Philadelphia, PA/Prep Charter) would share scoring honors for the Explorers with a dozen points each.

For the ninth time in as many games the Explorers out rebounded their opponent - this time by a dominating 12-rebound margin at 41-29 but it was two offensive rebounds late that helped seal the win for the Cats.

The game marked Villanova first appearance all-time at Tom Gola Arena which opened for play as the Explorers' home court on February 21, 1998.

The Explorers will host the La Salle Invitational beginning on Thursday, December 28th when they challenge Holy Cross at 6:00 PM at Tom Gola Arena.  The four-team field also includes Delaware and Niagara and will feature doubleheaders on each day from the 28th through December 30th.