City of Basketball Love

By David Comer
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PHILADELPHIA - Villanova guard Devin Askew grew up in Sacramento, nearly 2,800 miles and a 41-hour drive from Philadelphia. So, forgive him if he wasn’t familiar with the Big 5 before arriving on campus.

“I never heard of it, but I’m just honored to put on a Villanova jersey and be a part of it,” Askew said after scoring 17 points to help lead the Wildcats to a 90-63 win over Penn in the championship game of the Big 5 Classic before a crowd of 10,361 in the final game of a tripleheader on Saturday at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. “I know it means a lot.”

Askew came off the bench to give the Wildcats a spark in a back-and-forth first half, hitting a pair of three-pointers on his way to eight first-half points and helping Villanova break open a 27-all tie with a 17-2 run heading into intermission. Both teams shot the ball well from beyond the arc in the first half — and all game — with the Wildcats hitting 15-of-31 (48 percent) and the Quakers connecting on 11-of-22 (50 percent).

Villanova improved to 7-1 with the win — its seventh straight victory since a season-opening loss to BYU — with a game at third-ranked Michigan looming on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Penn fell to 5-4, and a matchup with Lafayette at the Palestra scheduled for Monday.

“This was a learning opportunity,” first-year Penn coach Fran McCaffery said. “We played a really good team. We did some good things. We didn’t do enough of them. We’ll get better.”

Senior guards Michael Zanoni and Cam Thrower along with junior forward T.J. Power each scored 11 points to lead the Quakers. Senior guard Ethan Roberts, the team’s leading scorer at 20.3 points per game entering the contest, went down with an undisclosed injury in the second half that brought a hush from the crowd.

“He’s on his way to the hospital,” McCaffery said. “He was visibly not in a good place. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.”

McCaffery added: “Now, we will have to play without Ethan. That’s a game-changer.”

Roberts’ injury was a negative moment on a day otherwise filled with positive ones.

“I thought it was a great day of college basketball,” McCaffery said.

Said first-year Villanova coach Kevin Willard: “It was great.”

For Askew, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound grad student in his first season at Villanova, he was grateful to be a part of it. He has seen a lot during his college basketball career that has taken him from one of the country’s top recruits to Kentucky to Texas to Cal to Long Beach State and, now, to Villanova. 

“I love it here in Philly,” Askew said. “I’m just so happy to be here.”

The 23-year-old Askew plays with a quiet confidence and smoothness to his game reflective of his age and experience. He plays like a coach on the court, always seeming to be in the right place and making the right play. There is no wasted motion when he’s on the floor.

“This year I’m just focusing on helping the team win anyway I can,” he said. “I’m just really grateful and thankful and taking it all in.”

On Saturday night Askew was efficient in his 19 minutes off the bench. He scored 17 points, making 7-of-12 from the field including 3-of-8 from deep. Askew was one of four Wildcats who scored in double figures, with sophomore guard Bryce Lindsay leading the way with 18 points, and senior forward Duke Brennan adding 15 and freshman forward Matt Hodge chipping in 12.

Askew is the type of player you want on your pick-up team; he’s going to get you the basketball when you’re open, make winning plays and hit open shots. For the season, he is averaging 8.9 points in 19.6 minutes per game all the while battling an injury in his right knee that he suffered during the summer and that still isn’t completely healed.

“I’m just getting better every day,” Askew said.

Willard is looking forward to seeing Askew back at full strength.

“Before Dev got hurt, I was really excited about how he was playing,” Willard said. “He’s still not fully at 100%. Now that he’s getting his groove back, I expect to see more nights like this. No pressure.”

Askew plays with a calmness that would appear to make him immune from pressure. He has seemingly seen it all during his college basketball career, now in its sixth season, as he heads into its final stretch.

“He brings a mental toughness,” Willard said. “He brings experience. He’s a great teammate.”

Askew is far from home — “You just kind of get used to it,” he said — but frequent calls with his family help, as does having one of his closest childhood friends from Sacramento nearby. Askew grew up across the street from Philadelphia 76ers standout Jared McCain, who was in the arena Saturday night to watch Askew play in person.

“We’re as tight as families can get,” Askew said.

Askew, who helped the United States win a gold medal in the FIBA 3x3 under-18 World Cup in 2019, has battled injuries during his career. Both of his seasons at Cal were cut short by injury. Then last season, when he was healthy, he averaged 18.9 points per game for Long Beach State. He is now in his final season of college basketball and enjoying it to the fullest extent possible.

“I’m getting near the end,” Askew said. “I’m on a great team with great coaches. I’m grateful. I’m just trying to make the most of it.”

And then Askew walked away back to the locker room, clutching his Big 5 Classic championship T-shirt in his right hand - a memento that will always remind him of his introduction to the Big 5 that he knew nothing about just a few months ago.

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Third-place game: St. Joe’s 70, Temple 69

Deuce Jones II’s three-pointer at the buzzer gave St. Joe’s (5-3) a 70-69 victory over Temple (4-5). Down by two with seven seconds left, the Hawks called a timeout and inbounded the ball from in front of their bench. The inbounds pass went to Anthony Finkley, who took one dribble and got the ball to Jones on a dribble handoff going to his left. The 6-foot-2 Jones did the rest, hitting a trey from the top of the key over the outstretched right arm of Temple’s 6-foot-9 Ayuba Bryant Jr.

“As soon as it left my hand, I knew it was good,” said Jones, a sophomore who spent his freshman season at LaSalle, where he was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year. Jones finished the game with a team-high 17 points, including the last 10 for the Hawks in the final two minutes of the game.

“I just thought it was a great Big 5 game,” St. Joe’s coach Steve Donahue said. “ … We’re lucky we had the ball at the end, and Deuce made a great shot.”

Said Temple coach Adam Fisher of Jones’ game-winner: “He made an incredible shot.”

Jaiden Glover-Toscano added 11 points for the Hawks, while Justice Ajogbor finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Finkley contributed 10 key points during a three-minute stretch in the second half.

Derrian Ford, a 6-foot-3 senior guard for Temple who previously played at Arkansas and Arkansas State and is in his first season with the Owls, was terrific all game. He finished with 27 points in 39 minutes. Gavin Griffiths added 15 points — all from beyond the arc — and 5 blocks for Temple.

St. Joe’s, which won the previous two Big 5 Classics, led 33-25 at halftime. The Owls ripped off a 19-6 run to open the second half and take a 44-39 lead with 13 minutes left in regulation. The teams traded runs during the rest of the second half before Jordan Mason hit a pair of foul shots to give the Owls a 69-67 lead with 15 seconds left, setting the stage for Jones’ heroics.

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Fifth-place game: La Salle 69, Drexel 64

LaSalle (4-6)'s 41-22 halftime lead was enough to hold off a Drexel (4-6) second-half rally that eventually closed the gap to three on a Shane Blakeney three-pointer with four seconds left in the second half. In response, Jaeden Marshall made a pair of ensuing foul shots to seal the win for the Explorers. 

“I’m incredibly proud of our comeback,” Dragons coach Zach Spiker said.

Josiah Harris, a 6-foot-9 senior forward, led the Explorers with a career-high 21 points and season-high 13 rebounds. The transfer from Radford has been playing his best basketball as of late, scoring 16 and 21 points and recording double-doubles in his last two games to raise his season scoring average to 7.8 points per game. Marshall, a transfer from Niagara who was 4-of-4 from the foul line in the final 8 seconds, added 15 points, while Eric Acker finished with 10.

Garfield Turner, a 6-foot-8 graduate student who missed last season with an injury, led four Drexel players in double figures with 12 points. Blakeney and Josh Reed finished with 11, and Victor Panov added 10.