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PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's basketball team fell, 84-70, to the No. 10/9 Villanova Wildcats on Wednesday evening at Tom Gola Arena despite a game-high 19 points from Jerrell Wright.
 
The senior forward scored 17 of his points in the second half after picking up two quick fouls in the opening minutes of the first half. Wright hit 6-of-8 from the floor and 7-of-7 from the line to help the Explorers make a late run at the Wildcats.
 
"He was either the best player on the court or as good as anyone out there," said head coach Dr. John Giannini said.
 
La Salle (4-3, 0-1 Big 5) used a 16-6 run late in the second half to cut Villanova's lead from 20 points to 10 after a pair of free throws from Wright with 2:10 left. The Wildcats, however, scored the game's final four points to halt the late comeback attempt.
 
"The second half was our best offensive half of the year, we scored 41 points against a terrific team," added Giannini.
 
Villanova (7-0, 1-0 Big 5) used a balanced attack to outlast the Explorers as five Wildcats finished in double figures. Darrun Hilliard and Dylan Ennis each had 15 points while Ennis also distributed a game-high nine assists.
 
Khalid Lewis notched a season-high 17 points in 34 minutes, shooting 7-for-13 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Jordan Price hit double figures for the fifth time this season, tallying 10 points and five assists.
 
The game went back and forth in the early going and the Explorers pulled to within a point on a Cleon Roberts three with 11:53 left in the half. The Wildcats responded with a 10-1 run to jump out to a 24-14 lead following a Josh Hart layup with 8:43 remaining.
 
The Explorers cut their deficit to six points on a pair of Price foul shots and a jumper from Lewis before Villanova pushed their lead to 18 points by halftime. The Wildcats shot 58.1 percent in the first half and 56.6 percent for the game.
 
The Explorers look to get back on track on Saturday as they play Temple (4-3, 1-1 Big 5) with tip scheduled for 12 p.m. at the Palestra. The game will be broadcast on ESPNnews.