Villanova Defeats Penn 68-55 In Foul-Plagued Game
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — 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.
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.
(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
