No. 17 Xavier Comes Back Late but Falls to No. 14 Villanova at Cintas Center

Wednesday, January 12

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

12-3,2-2Big East

Villanova

12-4,5-1Big East

Villanova

Xavier

No. 17 Xavier Comes Back Late but Falls to No. 14 Villanova at Cintas Center

01.12.22 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Photos

Nate Johnson and Paul Scruggs each finish with 15 points

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Paul Scruggs led a second-half comeback, erasing a 13-point Villanova lead to tie the game late, but the Musketeers were unable to move in front, falling 64-60 to No. 14 Villanova at Cintas Center on Wednesday evening.

Scruggs had 13 second half points to finishing with a 15 for the game, matching Nate Johnson for team-high. The Musketeers move to 12-3 overall and 2-2 in BIG EAST.

FIRST HALF

The Musketeers and Wildcats traded one-possession lead for the first eight minutes before a 6-0 Villanova run put the Wildcats up five, 13-8, with 12 minutes left in the half.
Xavier pulled within three before VU outscored the Musketeers 8-3 over the next four minutes, leading 23-15.
After the Musketeers pulled within six, 23-17, Villanova went on an 11-0 run to take its largest lead of the half at 17, 34-17, with four minute remaining.
Xavier outscored Villanova 10-4 over the remainder of the half to cut the deficit down to 11, 38-27, at halftime.
Nate Johnson led Xavier with eight points in the first half.
Colby Jones led Xavier with six first half rebounds as the Musketeers were outrebounded, 24-15, in the first half
Villanova had 9-4 advantage on the offensive glass, leading to a 12-0 advantage on second chance points.

SECOND HALF

Xavier outscored Villanova 11-6 over the first six minutes of the second half to cut the lead to seven, 45-38.
Villanova pushed its lead back out to 12, 54-42, with under 10 minutes to play, before a 10-0 Xavier run pulled the Musketeers within two, 54-52, with just over four minutes to play.
The Musketeers tied it up late, 56-56 with 2:17 to play before a 4-0 run for Villanova put the Wildcats back in control.
Xavier would get as close as two in the final minutes before falling by four, 64-60.
Paul Scruggs had 13 second-half points to help the Musketeers tie the game late. A Jack Nunge three at the buzzer was waved off following a review.
Jack Nunge had five second half rebounds led Xavier to a 17-16 advantage on the boards for Xavier. The Musketeers had an 8-4 advantage on the offensive glass, outscoring VU 8-4 on second-chance points.
Xavier forced nine VU turnovers, committing just one, and outscored the Wildcats 13-0 on points off turnovers.

NOTABLES

Paul Scruggs finished with 15 points after scoring 13 points in the second half.
Nate Johnson also had 15 points after leading the Musketeers in the first half with eight points.
Colby Jones finished with 10 rebounds to lead the Musketeers. Villanova finished with a 40-32 advantage on the boards.
Jack Nunge grabbed seven rebounds to go with nine points, including five points in the final five minutes of the game.
Xavier matched its season low with six turnovers, including just one in the second half.

UP NEXT

The Musketeers remain at Cintas Center for the next match-up, hosting Creighton on Saturday, January 15. Tip-off with the Bluejays is set for noon on FOX.

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