PHILADELPHIA - Squaring off against one of the top teams in the nation, the La Salle University men's basketball team battled Big 5 rival Villanova (10-0) to the final whistle of a 77-68 loss at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday afternoon. The Explorers (5-6) were led by seniors B.J. Johnson and Amar Stukes, who totaled 21 and 16 points, respectively. 

Early in the first half, La Salle scored five straight points, including a three from Stukes, to tie the game at 10-10 with 14:03 remaining in the period. Stukes was on fire from downtown in the opening stanza, and two more trifectas from the Philadelphia native gave the Explorers a 16-15 lead with 11:36 to go.

Villanova, who entered the contest ranked fourth in the nation according to the Associated Press, re-built a 25-18 lead before La Salle fought back again. A personal 5-0 spurt from Johnson that was ignited by a highlight-reel alley-oop jam pushed the visitors in front by a point at 29-28.

From there, a three-pointer from sophomore Isiah Deas and a layup from freshman Miles Brookins built a four-point cushion for the Explorers, who entered halftime with a 38-37 lead despite the fact that the Wildcats had a 17-1 advantage in free throw attempts.

The second half started out auspiciously for La Salle, who used jumpers from Johnson and redshirt junior Pookie Powell to construct a 42-37 lead just over a minute into the stanza. Villanova responded with an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to take a four-point lead, and led seven at 60-53 following two free throws from Eric Paschall. 

La Salle did not go away, however, and a jumper from Deas sparked a run of seven straight points by the Explorers that knotted the contest at 60 with 5:34 remaining. Deas was an important factor in the second half, scoring six of his nine points while adding an assist.

The Wildcats split a pair from the charity stripe before a short jumper from Powell gave La Salle a 62-61 lead with under five minutes remaining. But a foul was called on a three-point attempt by Villanova's Phil Booth, who knocked down all three of his attempts, and a three-pointer by Donte DiVincenzo turned the tide and upped Nova's lead to 67-62. 

Powell's short jumper with 1:02 left brought La Salle to within four at 72-68, but the Wildcats salted away the game with free throws to earn their 10th straight win to start the year. For the game, Villanova held an incredible 35-5 advantage in free-throw attempts that led to a 23-point advantage in scoring from the stripe.

La Salle has a week-long break before it hosts Mercer at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center on Sunday, Dec. 17. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.