Marquette Golden Eagles vs Villanova Wildcats Match Player Stats On Jan 06, 2018

Villanova coach Jay Wright captured his 400th win with the program on the Main Line.

Mikal Bridges contributed 18 and Donte DiVincenzo had 14 for the Wildcats (14-1, 2-1 Big East). In Villanova's previous game, the Wildcats fell at Butler 101-93, allowing the Bulldogs to connect on 15 of 22 from 3-point range. This time, Marquette was 11 of 31 from beyond the arc.

Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had a career-high 10 and Phil Booth also had 10 for the Wildcats.

Markus Howard led the Golden Eagles (11-5, 2-2) with 37 points. Howard scored a school-record 52 points in previous last game, a 95-90 overtime win at Providence.

Sacar Anim added 14 while Sam Hauser and Greg Elliott had 13 each for Marquette.

Villanova pushed ahead 53-36 early in the second half following five straight points by Brunson on a 3-pointer and a short jumper.

However, the Golden Eagles began to chip away, anchored by Howard. During one stretch, Howard scored 10 consecutive points, but Marquette still trailed 64-50 with 13:52 remaining.

Bridges converted a three-point play and extended the lead back to 67-50.

Marquette then ripped off nine straight points with Howard's layup getting the visitors within 67-59.

Brunson then took over with an assist to DiVincenzo for a dunk, a jumper in the lane and a clutch 3-pointer with 6:15 remaining to put the Wildcats back up 78-65.

It was more than enough of a cushion for the Wildcats, who withstood a furious late rally by the Golden Eagles.

Villanova started red hot and remained that way the entire first half, shooting 62 percent (18 of 29).

Paschall entered the game averaging 9.3 points per game, and he scored 11 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting. Cosby-Roundtree hit all five of his shots for a career-high 10 points in the first half.

Villanova bolted to a 23-12 lead and eventually was up 36-24 following Cosby-Roundtree's layup.

The Wildcats led 46-34 at halftime.

--Field Level Media