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Reynolds leads Villanova in rout of city-rival Penn

Dec 2, 2007 - 4:35 AM VILLANOVA, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- No. 21 Villanova took out its frustrations on a familiar foe.

Scottie Reynolds and freshman Corey Fisher combined for 27 points in the first half as the Wildcats tied a record with their 12th consecutive Big Five victory, an 87-61 demolition of Penn on Saturday.

Villanova ended up tying a mark originally set by Penn between January 19, 1972 to January 18, 1975.

"As a kid I remember those Penn teams, I loved those teams," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "It's an honor to be mentioned with those teams. It is a true honor. They were awesome teams, and I hope we can be that good."

Freshman Antonio Pena scored 12 points for Villanova (5-1), which was coming off its only loss of the season, 69-68, to North Carolina State on Sunday. Villanova forward Dante Cunningham fouled Gavin Grant on a 3-point attempt with under one second to play.

Star guard Reynolds and the rest of his troops made Penn pay. The sophomore did not miss a shot in the first half, as Villanova shot 60 percent (18-of-30) and held the defending Ivy League champion Quakers (2-6) to 26 percent (6-of-23) shooting in jumping to a 53-22 halftime lead.

"It was a difficult start for us. We didn't come into this game with a lot of confidence in ourselves," Penn coach Glen Miller said. "We are trying to build our confidence, so this was a tough stage to do that in. I think the kids kept on playing. We did some good things in the second half."

Reynolds converted all four field goal attempts, including two from the arc, and was perfect on four free throws as Villanova used a 21-1 run for a 28-4 lead 7 1/2 minutes into the game. Pena scored seven straight points during the spurt, converting a 3-pointer, layup and dunk.

"We started so quick, and I was pleased with that," Wright said. "Scottie (Reynolds) had two incredible dives in the first half that set the tone for our young guys that said this is how we have to play every night."

Fisher ended the first-half scoring with a 3-pointer that provided the Wildcats their biggest lead of the half. The 6-1 guard did not score after the break but finished with four steals and four assists, while Reynolds finished with 21 points, five assists and two steals.

Cunningham made all five of his shots from the field for 10 points for Villanova, which won its fourth straight over its Philadelphia-city rival and improved to 38-17 all-time in the series.

Tyler Bernardini scored 21 points for Penn, which has won three straight Ivy titles and five of six.