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VILLANOVA, Pa. -- If the first 12 plus minutes of Tuesday night's BIG EAST clash at the Pavilion with No. 15 Xavier weren't what Villanova was looking for, the next 28 certainly were.

After trailing 24-16 in the first half, the Wildcats outscored the Musketeers 63-30 the rest of the way to post a 79-54 victory. Xavier falls to 13-3 overall, 3-1 in the BIG EAST while Villanova improves to 16-1 overall, 4-1 in conference action.

The Wildcats trio of seniors -- Josh Hart, Kris Jenkins, and Darryl Reynolds -- combined for 50 points, with Hart and Jenkins each delivering 20. The Musketeers' high scorer was Edmond Sumner, who finished with 11 points.

"That's a really good win for us against a very good Xavier team," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright, whose teams tied a Pavilion record by winning its 46th straight game in its on-campus home.

"Both teams defended well in the first half. Then, Kris hit some shots early in the second half and it loosened it up. We just hit some shots in the second half."

Indeed after converting just 11-of-27 from the field in the first 20 minutes (.407), Villanova rebounded to connect on 17-of-25 (.680) after intermission. It marked the ninth time in their last 11 outings that VU drained 50 percent or more of its field goal attempts (.538).

Xavier carried the action in the early going, converting its first three field goal attempts, including a 3-pointer by J.P. Macura to grab a 7-2 lead after 2:33 of action. The Wildcats, meanwhile, struggled to find an offensive flow, as they misfired on their first four attempts from the floor and committed a turnover on another possession.

Quality looks at the basket were hard to come by for Villanova over the first 12:09 of the first half. VU was just 5-of-17 from the field (.294) and it fell behind 24-16 with 7:25 left to play in the opening half. It took a Jalen Brunson basket to snap a scoring drought that lasted more than five minutes.

"We did not start the game with great energy," stated Wright. "They came in ready to go and we were not. Kris hit some shots to keep us in it. I thought Donte DiVincenzo and Eric Paschall, coming off the bench in the first half sparked us."

Jenkins heated up to a key a 7-0 Wildcats response that drew Villanova back to within 24-23 with 3:53 on the clock as the sellout crowd of 6,500 picked up the noise level. A free throw by Eric Paschall tied the contest at 24 and a pair from Jalen Brunson gave VU its first lead at 26-24.

Villanova never trailed again.

The Wildcats defense over the final 10 minutes of the first half made a huge difference. After sinking five of its first 10 attempts from deep, Xavier missed its final 10 deep balls in the half. Villanova got just enough offense from Jenkins (10 points), Hart (nine points) and Brunson (seven points) to take a 34-28 lead into the break.

Brunson found Jenkins for a wide open 3-pointer on the first Villanova possession of the second half and the Wildcats were in a scoring groove the rest of the way. The Wildcats outscored Xavier 45-26 after the break.

"I thought we did a good job defensively in the second half and that was the difference," Wright noted.

"We have great respect for Xavier, which makes this a great victory," stated Wright.

On Saturday Villanova is back in action, this time against St. John's at Madison Square Garden (noon/FS1 and 610 Sports Radio). Then, the Wildcats host Seton Hall on Monday as part of the BIG EAST's celebration of Martin Luther King Day at the Pavilion (6:30 p.m./FS1 and 610 Sports Radio).