Mouphtaou Yarou had 21 points and 11 rebounds as Villanova downed Pennsylvania 73-65 at The Pavilion on Saturday.

Maalik Wayns, who averaged a team-high 20 points entering this game, battled foul trouble and finished with 11 points for the Wildcats (5-2), who won their ninth straight meeting against the Quakers in a battle of Philadelphia-based schools.

Villanova snapped a two-game slide and improved its all-time record against its “Big Five” rival to 41-18.

The Wildcats dominated early, led by 18 at the break and carried that advantage for several minutes into the second half before Penn (4-5) was able to move to within four points late as Zack Rosen – a two-time Ivy League Player of the Week selection – scored 11 points over the final 65 seconds.

However, Yarou and Wayns combined to score 14 straight points and Villanova hit 11 of its final 12 free throws to hold off the Quakers.

Rosen led Penn with 21 points and hit three shots from beyond the arc, moving him past his coach Jerome Allen into sixth place in school history with 181 career 3-pointers.