Musketeers Defeat No. 17/16 Villanova for Fourth Straight Victory

Sunday, February 24

Cincinnati, Ohio

1:30 p.m.

Xavier University

15-13, 7-8BE

Villanova

20-8, 11-4BE

Villanova

Xavier

Musketeers Defeat No. 17/16 Villanova for Fourth Straight Victory

02.24.19 | Men's Basketball

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Musketeers hold Wildcats scoreless for over nine minutes in the second half

By: Patrick Knapinski, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier men's basketball used a second half defensive stand to top the No. 17 Villanova Wildcats, 66-54, at Cintas Center on Sunday afternoon. After trailing by as many as nine in the first half, the Musketeers took the lead on a Naji Marshall layup with 10:20 left in the second half and never looked back. XU utilized a 23-4 run over 10:57 to take as much as 15-point lead on the way to a fourth-straight win, moving to 15-13 overall and 7-8 in BIG EAST play.

Naji Marshall led the offensive attack with 17 point to go with seven boards and four assists. Paul Scruggs, Zach Hankins and Quentin Goodin also finished in double figures. This is the first time Xavier has beaten Villanova since the 2015-16 season, when XU defeated then-No. 1 Villanova, 90-83.

FIRST HALF

Villanova jumped ahead early, with an almost three minute scoring drought by Xavier allowing the Wildcats to lead by as many as nine in the first half.
A Quentin Goodin three pointer ended the drought, cutting Villanova's lead to six, 20-14.
Villanova only made two of last 10 shots, allowing Xavier to pull within one, 28-17, late in the first half before going into the break down three, 30-27.
All Musketeers who logged ten-plus minutes in the first half scored, led by Hankins with eight points and Marshall with seven points, four rebounds and three assists.
Xavier out shot Nova 48 percent to 40 percent but not hit six three-pointers compared to Xavier's three three-pointers, allowing Nova to lead by three at halftime 30-27
Nova out-rebounded Xavier 18-12 and 7-1 on the offensive end.
Xavier leads in points in the paint 14-6.

SECOND HALF

Villanova held onto a narrow lead until midway through the second half. Xavier took its first lead of the game, 46-44, with 10:20 remaining off a Naji Marshall layup assisted by Quentin Goodin.
Xavier erased the deficit and took the lead with 23-4 run over 10:57 to lead by as many as 15, 61-46, going into the final minutes.
During that run, Nova had a scoring drought of over nine minutes where Xavier went on a 17-0 run over the period.
Paul Scruggs scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, including two of three from the behind the arc and four of six from the free throw line.
XU shot 54 percent from the field and 38 percent from three in the second half, comparatively, Villanova shot 28 percent from the field and 22 percent from the arc.
The Musketeers out-rebounded Nova 21 to 15 and outscored them in the paint 14 to 8 in the second half.

NOTABLES

Four Musketeers scored in double-figures: Naji Marshall (17), Paul Scruggs (14), Quentin Goodin (11), and Zach Hankins (10)
Xavier shot 51 percent for the game from the field and 36 percent from the three-point arc
Villanova was held to 34 percent (20-59) shooting from the field, this is the third lowest an XU opponent has shot this season
Naji Marshall recorded his fifth straight double-figure scoring game
XU has won four straight to move into fourth place in the BIG EAST at 7-8 in conference play