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No. 12 Villanova uses balanced attack to defeat Marquette

Feb 3, 2011 - 2:45 AM Villanova, PA (Sports Network) - Mouphtaou Yarou led a balanced Villanova attack with 18 points, and the 12th-ranked Wildcats fended off a late run from Marquette to get back in the win column with a 75-70 decision at The Pavilion.

Villanova (18-4, 6-3 Big East) came into the game on a 1-3 slump and used five double digits scorers and solid free throw shooting (29-of-33) to stop a Golden Eagles club playing their seventh ranked opponent in eight games.

Corey Fisher added 17 points, six assists and four steals for the Wildcats, while Antonio Pena logged 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Jimmy Butler and Darius Johnson-Odom netted 15 points apiece for Marquette (14-9, 5-5), which failed to build off its win over Syracuse last Saturday.

The Golden Eagles appeared overmatched early in the second half before a 10-2 run turned a double-digit deficit into a close game, as Jae Crowder's two free throws pulled them within 62-59 with five minutes to play.

Yarou helped keep the visitors at bay, grabbing an offensive rebound that led to a Fisher bucket inside, then converting a three-point play for a 69-63 lead with 2:29 showing.

Villanova owned at least a three-point cushion from there and made enough free throws in the final minutes to close out the win.

Yarou's personal 6-0 run midway through the first half gave Villanova a 19-12 cushion after a slow start.

The hosts, behind a late three-pointer from Corey Stokes, went into the locker room holding a 34-25 advantage and extended it to 46-33 on Pena's three-point play 5 1/2 minutes into the second stanza.

Game Notes

The Wildcats have won 46 straight games at The Pavilion...With his eighth points of the night, Pena became the 54th player in Villanova history to reach 1,000 career points...Stokes and Maalik Wayns scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, for Villanova, which is 16-0 when they score 70 or more in a contest and 2-4 otherwise...Marquette missed just one free throw but only went to the line 14 times...'Nova next hosts West Virginia on Saturday, while Marquette gets a week off before traveling to South Florida.