Maalik Wayns scored five straight points to break an overtime tie and host Villanova beat La Salle 76-69 in the first Big Five matchup of the season.

The junior point guard scored a career-high 22 points, including a 15-footer and straightaway 3-pointer to snap a 63-63 tie.

Villanova (2-0) hasn’t lost to La Salle (1-1) since 2001 and leads the alltime series 35-27.

The back-and-forth game drew Villanova’s 116th consecutive sellout crowd to the 6,500-seat Pavilion. Last year, the Wildcats went 4-0 to win their 21st City Series title.

The Explorers, who trailed 50-47 with six minutes left, went on an 8-0 run capped by Taylor Dunn’s 3-pointer. But they could not hold on.

Villanova’s Darrun Hilliard stole an inbounds pass and hit a layup to tie it 61-61 with 59 seconds left. Each team missed a chance to win in regulation.

Tyreek Duren led La Salle with 24 points, and Sam Mills had a career-high 19.

Villanova got 18 points from Dominic Cheek, 15 from James Bell.