No. 6 Xavier Moves to 12-1 After Falling at No. 16 Villanova

Thursday, December 31

Villanova, Pa.

12 P.M.

Xavier University

(12-1, 0-1BE)

Villanova University

(11-2, 1-0BE)

Xavier

Villanova

No. 6 Xavier Moves to 12-1 After Falling at No. 16 Villanova

12.31.15 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Sumner taken to hospital after collision, has movement in extremities

By: Hayley Schletker, Xavier Athletic Communications

VILLANOVA, Pa. – After losing its point guard early in the game, the No. 6 Xavier men's basketball team dropped its first game of the season, falling at No. 16 Villanova on Thursday afternoon. The 95-64 loss moves the Musketeers to 12-1 on the season.

Senior James Farr led the Musketeers with 15 points. J.P. Macura finished with 12 and Trevon Bluiett added 11 for Xavier. Myles Davis dished out five assists as he helped fill in for guard Edmond Sumner who exited the game early with an injury.

Sumner opened scoring for the Musketeers with a three to in the first minute of the game before a hard foul on a breakaway less than three minutes into the game. Sumner collided with Villanova's Kris Jenkins going up for a layup and fell to the ground. After lying motionless for a few moments, Sumner, who was able to move his extremities, was removed from the court on a stretcher and taken to a Philadelphia area hospital.

Jalen Reynolds, shooting for Sumner, hit a pair of free throws to put the Musketeers up, 5-4, before the Wildcats took off on a 13-0 run featuring a pair of three pointers from VU's Ryan Arcidiacono, who finished the half with 17 points, including hitting 5-of-8 from outside.

Xavier committed 12 first half turnovers, leading to 13 points for the Wildcats who led by as many as 20 in the first half. The XU defense battled to contain the Wildcat offense that started the half 8-of-11 from outside, but cooled off, missing the last four three pointers of the half to finish shooting 53.3 percent from outside and 64.0 percent from the floor.

Bluiett's seven first half points led the Musketeers, as Xavier would get as close as 16 in the closing minutes of the first half on a Kaiser Gates three pointer in the final minute half. A pair of VU free throws set the score at 48-30 at the break.

The Wildcats owned a slight advantage on the boards in the first half, grabbing 12 boards to 11 for the Musketeers.

Villanova went on a 6-0 run early in the second half to take a 61-34 lead with just over 16 minutes to play in the game.

Macura put up a team high 10 points in the second half, and Farr added nine after the break, but the Wildcats continued to hit shots at a blistering rate, hitting 62.5 percent from the floor in second half.

Villanova would extend its lead to as many as 33 in the final minute, the Musketeers' largest deficit of the season, before a Farr tip-in at the buzzer set the final score at 95-64.

The Musketeers finished with 19 turnovers to just 10 for VU, allowing the Wildcats to own a 26-4 advantage on points off miscues.

Farr also led the team with seven rebounds as the Musketeers outrebounded the Wildcats, 31-26, including grabbing 15 offensive rebounds for 17 second-chance points.

VU's Arcidiacono finished with a game-high 27 points.

Xavier returns home to host No. 9/10 Butler on Saturday, Jan. 2, at Cintas Center. The matchup with the Bulldogs is set for 1:00 p.m. on FOX Sports 1.