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Villanova pulls away from Penn in Big-5 clash

Dec 5, 2013 - 5:06 AM Villanova, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points on a career-high four 3-pointers, James Bell added 14 points with eight rebounds, and No. 14 Villanova continued its dominance over Big-5 rival Penn with a 77-54 victory on Wednesday night.

JayVaughn Pinkston netted 13 points with seven rebounds and Dylan Ennis tallied 11 points off the bench for Villanova (7-0), which won its 11th consecutive game over the Quakers.

Miles Jackson-Cartwright scored a team-high 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc for Penn (2-5), while Darien Nelson-Henry finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

Villanova was playing in its first game since taking down then-No. 2 Kansas and No. 23 Iowa en route to a Battle 4 Atlantis title.

"I don't think the Bahamas gave us a big head, but you can't look past anyone," Hilliard said. "Penn is a good team. It's a good learning experience."

Hilliard knocked down a triple from the near corner to open the scoring 2:18 into the game to start an 11-0 Wildcats' run. Bell followed with a trey of his own and then converted an alley-oop from Hilliard on the next possession.

Hilliard capped the run just how he started it, with a 3-pointer with just under 16 minutes to play in the first.

Penn answered with two straight buckets, but Hilliard buried his third three in as many tries to extend the lead to 14-4.

Following three free throws from Villanova's Josh Hart later in the half, Ennis hit 1-of-2 from the line after a Flagrant 1 foul on Julian Harrell and then followed with a 3-pointer that was a part of a 14-1 run.

Kris Jenkins joined the three party with a trey of his own and Pinkston capped the spurt with a pair of free throws to give Villanova a 31-9 lead with 8:07 to go in the first half.

Jackson-Cartwright hit three triples as part of a 12-0 run which cut the deficit to 10, 31-21, with 5:27 to go before the intermission.

Villanova ended the half on a 6-0 run that began with Hilliard's career-high fourth three of the game to take a 46-28 lead at the break.

Penn opened up the second half on a 13-4 run, in large part to Villanova's inability to put the ball in the basket.

Hilliard scored the Wildcats' first bucket 10:05 into the second half. The Wildcats, however, still maintained a 52-41 advantage after the layup.

Harrell pulled the Quakers within eight with a jumper with 7:07 to go, but Pinkston added a pair of free throws and the Wildcats' second basket of the half, a jumper at the 6:04 mark that pushed the lead back to double digits.

The jumper spearheaded a 12-0 spurt and the lead grew back to 68-48 with four minutes to play.

"It's my responsibility to get these guys, not just to compete but to expect to win and cover the details well enough that will allow us to win," Penn head coach Jerome Allen said. "And it didn't happen today."

Game Notes

Villanova shot 18-for-52 (34.6 percent) from the field while Penn shot 21- of-62 (33.9 percent) ... Ryan Arcidiacono, the hero of Villanova's upset win against Kansas, scored just three points on 1-of-10 shooting ... Villanova has not lost to Penn at the Pavilion (9-0) ... During the 11-game win streak in series, the Wildcats have won each game by double digits ... Villanova is ranked for the first time since Feb. 28, 2011 ... Penn has lost 34 straight against ranked opponents since they beat No. 6 Temple in November of 1998.