Big 5 Championship: Saint Joseph’s Wins Battle of the Birds Over Temple

Philadelphia: Who would have city bragging right for the rest of the season – that is what was on the line Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center as the Temple Owls took on the Saint Joseph’s Hawks for the right to be crowned champions of Philadelphia College basketball in 2023. The Hawks came into the game off a win over Villanova while the Owls made their way to south Philly after a triple-OT win over LaSalle.

How it sounded inside the Wells Fargo Center during starting lineups:

Temple:

How it sounded as #Temple got introduced by @MattyCord#Big5Classic pic.twitter.com/cW58AiHN0y

— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) December 3, 2023

Saint Joseph’s:

How it sounded inside Wells Fargo Center when #SaintJosephs gets introduced by @MattyCord #Big5Classic pic.twitter.com/NFkBuewsUH

— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) December 3, 2023

How the game went:

In the first half, a Philadelphia Big 5 Tradition would continue: when you score your 1st basket, streamers would get tossed.

The #Temple Students with the streamers on their 1st basket#Big5Classic pic.twitter.com/RwYYrf3Pzp

— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) December 3, 2023

The Hawks would take flight early and at one point they would have a lead of 12 at 27-15 with 4:16 left in the half, led by Lynn Greer lll & Rasheer Fleming. The Owls would attempt to cut into the lead to end the half, but they just looked lost and confused. Hawks took a 34-23 lead into halftime

Going into the swcond half, what could Temple do to change how terrible they looked in the first half? Could the Hawks continue what they did in the first half?

The answers to the questions were yes – the Hawks kept it going from the first half and NO, Temple could not make the changes to get back into the game. They just did too much dribbling looking like how the Sixers were when James Harden was on the team – no ball movement and just not making quality shots.

The Saint Joseph’s fans were having a lot of fun all night and the Hawks would soar to the Big 5 Championship with a 74-65 win.

#SaintJosephs wins the #Big5Classic pic.twitter.com/zKGQp6hVa8

— David Malandra Jr (@DaveMReports) December 3, 2023

Postgame:

Saint Joseph’s Coach Billy Lange:

Temple Coach Adam Fisher:

Final Numbers:

What is Next:

So now where does Saint Joseph’s go from here? They prepare for battle with American on December 6 at Hagan Arena while Temple will attempt to rebound from this loss and take on Bloomsburg, also on December 6, at Liacouras Center.