Villanova Wildcats vs Xavier Musketeers Match Player Stats On Feb 24, 2019

Naji Marshall scored a team-high 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting, and host Xavier stormed back for a 66-54 win over No. 17 Villanova on Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati.

Xavier (15-13, 7-8 Big East) trailed for much of the game before going on a remarkable 17-0 run in the second half. The outburst turned a 3-point deficit into a 14-point advantage for the Musketeers, who won their fourth straight immediately following a six-game losing streak.

The collapse marked the latest setback for Villanova (20-8, 11-4), which lost its third straight game for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Wildcats went 9:04 without scoring -- from 12:41 remaining until 3:37 remaining -- before Joe Cremo finally broke the drought on a layup.

Three other Xavier players finished in double figures including Paul Scruggs (14 points), Quentin Goodin (11) and Zach Hankins (10). The Musketeers split their regular-season series with the Wildcats at one win apiece.

Eric Paschall led Villanova with 17 points. Phil Booth added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists -- but he shot only 6-for-18.

Xavier claimed its first lead of the game when it pulled ahead 46-44 on a driving layup by Marshall with 10:21 left. Marshall faked a 3-pointer and attacked the paint for the easy bucket.

Marshall and Scruggs hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Marshall made a jumper on the next three possessions to spark the run. Marshall extended the lead to double digits with a jumper to make it 54-44 with 8:14 to go.

Both teams thrived from 3-point range during a high-tempo start to the second half. During one 44-second span, Saddiq Bey of Villanova, Scruggs and Paschall each buried shots from long distance.

Villanova led 30-27 at halftime. Booth led the Wildcats with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting at the break. He also assisted on a highlight-reel play as he lobbed an alley-oop pass from beyond the arc for an emphatic dunk by Paschall.

Hankins (eight points) and Marshall (seven points) accounted for more than half of Xavier's first-half scoring. Hankins made a difference on both ends of the floor as he blocked a would-be layup by Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree.

After two days off, Villanova will host No. 11 Marquette on Wednesday.

Xavier will go on the road to visit St. John's in its next contest on Thursday.

--Field Level Media