Saddiq Bey scored a career-high 27 points and No. 23 Villanova held off Big 5 rival Pennsylvania for an 80-69 home victory on Wednesday.

Justin Moore scored 17 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats, who improved to 6-2. Collin Gillespie had 11 points despite being in foul trouble.

Penn snapped Villanova's 25-game Big 5 winning streak last season at the Palestra.

AJ Brodeur led the Quakers with 18 points and 14 rebounds while Jordan Dingle added 18 points and Devon Goodman had 16. Ryan Betley also had 13 for Penn, which dropped to 5-4.

Penn is 0-12 all-time on Villanova's campus since 1987.

Betley cut to the basket and scored for a 17-13 Penn lead with 11:22 remaining in the first half.

Moore later drove into the lane and tied the score at 23 for Villanova at the third media timeout.

The Wildcats continued to attack the basket and went ahead 27-23 when Bey scored with 5:29 left.

Villanova used a late surge to go ahead 36-30 at halftime thanks in large part to 16 points by Bey.

The Quakers were led by Brodeur with 12 on 5-for-7 shooting.

Bey started the second half just as strong with a three-point play on Villanova's first possession for a nine-point lead at 39-30.

Dingle missed two free throws for Penn, then Bey scored again for an 11-point advantage. But Dingle redeemed himself with a 3-pointer as the Quakers closed within 41-33.

Goodman knocked down a trey in front of its bench, then stole a pass and threw down a dunk to pull Penn within 48-44 with 13:25 remaining. On the Quakers' next possession after a timeout, Dingle hit a 3-pointer and the deficit was 48-47.

Cole Swider's jump hook in the lane pushed the Wildcats ahead 59-55.

Penn stayed close as Dingle's trey cut the gap to 68-64 with 4:16 left.

Moore made a difficult shot in the lane and Gillespie then hit two free throws for a 75-66 Villanova lead with 1:17 remaining.

--Field Level Media