Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek scored 21 points apiece, and Villanova withstood a second-half 3-point barrage to beat visiting Delaware 79-69 on Friday.

Mouphtaou Yarou chipped in 19 points and five rebounds as the Wildcats (3-0) improved to 10-0 all-time in the series between schools separated by roughly 40 miles.

Villanova needed overtime to defeat Philadelphia Big Five rival La Salle on Tuesday, but looked like it would cruise against the Blue Hens, who started 0-2 for the sixth straight season.

A late steal and an offensive putback by Cheek gave Villanova a 38-24 lead at halftime, matching its largest margin of the first 20 minutes.

But after going only 2-for-13 beyond the arc in the first half, Delaware hit 8-of-19 in the second to stay within striking distance.

Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year Devon Saddler paced the Blue Hens with a game-high 27 points, while reserve Kyle Anderson added nine of his 12 in the second half.

Delaware hadn't played since dropping a 58-54 decision in its opener at Radford a week ago, and the layoff didn't help. After shooting only 28.8 percent against the Highlanders, the Blue Hens missed 17 of their first 23 shots to fall behind 26-13.

They pulled within 44-40 on a Saddler 3-pointer, but got no closer despite a game effort after losing the past two seasons by an average of 26.5 points against the Wildcats.