Jermaine Samuels scored all 15 of his points in the second half Wednesday night, helping No. 21 Villanova rally for a 69-59 win over visiting Temple at Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, Pa.

Samuels broke a 47-47 tie with a 3-pointer with 5:14 left in the game, highlighting a 12-0 Wildcats run that wrested control from the Owls in a game that was as hard-fought as one would imagine from Philadelphia rivals.

Samuels added four free throws in the final four minutes as Villanova (7-2) won the second of its four straight games against the Big Five in its city. The Wildcats still have contests remaining with St. Joseph's on Saturday and at Penn on Tuesday night.

Eric Paschall made only 3 of 15 shots but still finished with 10 points and seven rebounds for Villanova, which won despite canning only 40.4 percent of its shots. Joe Cremo came off the bench to add 11 points.

Nate Pierre-Louis tallied a game-high 19 points for Temple (7-2), while Shizz Alston Jr. contributed 15 despite making only 5 of 16 field-goal attempts. Quinton Rose chipped in 13 points, but the Owls' other starters combined for just five points. Temple was outrebounded 22-11 after halftime and outscored 20-9 at the foul line in the game.

Villanova landed the first punch, establishing a 10-4 lead four minutes into the game when Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree converted a layup off a Paschall feed. But Temple launched a predictable rally, tying the score at 12 when Alston dunked in transition.

The teams went back and forth from there for the remainder of the half, each answering any time the opponent came up with a couple of buckets. The Wildcats led by as many as five, but the Owls claimed a 23-21 edge when Alston stroked a 3-pointer at the 1:05 mark.

Cremo responded with a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound with 42 seconds left, enabling Villanova to take a 24-23 advantage to intermission. The Wildcats made just 37.5 percent of their first-half field goals, but outscored Temple 12-3 from the 3-point line.

--Field Level Media