Collin Gillespie scored a season-high 26 points to lift No. 6 Villanova past host Pennsylvania 71-56 in a Big 5 matchup Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Brandon Slater added 16 on 7-of-8 shooting, Caleb Daniels contributed 12 and Justin Moore had nine points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (5-2), who defeated La Salle in their Big 5 opener on Sunday. Villanova still has Big 5 games remaining against Saint Joseph's and Temple.

Jordan Dingle led Penn (3-7) with 21 points and Max Martz added 12.

The Quakers have dropped three in a row.

When Slater threw down a one-handed dunk with 9:40 left in the first half, it capped a 13-0 run for a 22-9 Villanova lead.

Penn missed eight straight shots during the run.

The Quakers finally connected when Jonah Charles hit a 3-pointer with 7:03 left to close within 10.

But Gillespie responded with a three-pointer on Villanova's next possession.

Penn continued to struggle offensively and Gillespie hit another trey for a 28-12 advantage with 6:07 to go.

Martz then came back with consecutive treys for the Quakers to cut the deficit to 10.

Villanova led 33-21 at halftime thanks in large part to Gillespie's 13 points.

The Quakers shot just 7 of 25 from the field.

The game became a bit choppy through the first six minutes of the second half as Villanova held a 40-27 lead.

Daniels then converted a three-point play with 13:38 remaining for a 16-point advantage.

Michael Wang responded with a nifty jump hook, Clark Slajchert made a 3-pointer and Dingle hit a jumper to close the Quakers within nine.

Moore knocked down a jumper and Gillespie made another trey for a 48-34 Wildcats lead with 9:54 left.

Dingle responded with a four-point play with 8:17 remaining to cut the deficit to 52-41.

When Gillespie dropped in a pair of free throws with 3:35 to go, Villanova led 64-49.

The Wildcats made some clutch shots down the stretch as they sealed the win.

--Field Level Media