Villanova 68, Penn 55

Villanova 68, Penn 55

Published Dec. 9, 2012 3:47 a.m. ET

Achraf Yacoubou had 13 points to lead Villanova to a 68-55 victory over Pennsylvania in a foul-plagued contest Saturday night.

Ryan Arcidiacono added 12 points, and Mouphtaou Yarou and JayVaughn Pinkston added 10 points apiece for the Wildcats (5-4).

It was the 10th straight win over Penn for Villanova, which leads the all-time Philadelphia Big 5 series 43-17.

Miles Cartwright had 16 points and Steve Rennard added 12 for the Quakers (2-7). Fran Dougherty, who entered the game leading Penn in scoring at 17.1 points per game, had just two points.

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The teams combined for 52 fouls, 30 by Penn, with Villanova going 26 for 38 from the free-throw line and Penn 22 for 33 from the stripe.

Penn cut Villanova's eight-point halftime lead to three on Henry Brooks' jumper, making it 35-32 with 18:41 left. The Quakers could not get any closer as Villanova went on a 13-6 run, capped by Yacoubou's three-point play for a 48-38 advantage with 11:41 remaining.

The teams combined for 41 free-throw attempts in the first half. Villanova led 14-2 early, but couldn't pull away from Penn and took a 35-27 lead into halftime. Penn trailed only by eight despite shooting 4 for 17 from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

The teams combined to shoot 6 for 23 from 3-point range in the first half, and finished a combined 13 for 37 from beyond the arc.

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