PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – A potent perimeter display by No. 22/21 Villanova helped lift it past Xavier 85-75 before 12,301 on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center. The Wildcats drained 15 of 34 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc (.441) to help offset a 42-28 Musketeer edge on points scored in the paint.
 
Villanova claimed its sixth consecutive victory to move to 14-4 overall. It remains the only BIG EAST squad with an unblemished mark at 5-0. Xavier fell to 11-8 overall, 3-3 in league play.
 
Senior Phil Booth continued his strong offensive play, delivering 22 points to go with five assists. Sophomore Collin Gillespie was 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, finishing with 18 points. Combined Booth and Gillespie were 11-of-19 from distance on the night.
 
Senior Eric Paschall complemented those two, contributing 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Tyrique Jones paced Xavier with 21 points and a dozen caroms.
 
"We made some shots in the second half but they're a tough, physical team," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright.
 
As for the accuracy from deep – the 15 triples were one shy of a season high, set vs. Oklahoma State -  Wright welcomed it but noted it isn't a statistic that looms largely internally.
 
"We never really worry about making or missing shots," Wright stated. "We worry more about taking good shots. I thought there were some we passed up early in the game. We want to be aggressive there.
 
"They went in tonight so it looks better. You've got to be ready to put the pressure on the defense by being ready to shoot. I still think we've got to do a better job of that."
 
The Wildcats built an eight point halftime lead and saw Xavier narrow the gap to one point twice midway through the period. But an 8-0 burst keyed by Gillespie and Booth allowed Villanova to create separation. At the other end, one switch paid dividends.
 
"We got Eric Paschall on Jones and it made a big difference," stated Wright. "Jones was killing us. Eric did an outstanding job even though he ended up with 21 points. But he wasn't getting offensive rebounds. They weren't just getting the ball to him at will when Eric was on him."
 
The game's early stages featured one team leaning on interior offense (Xavier) with the other (Villanova) doing more of its damage from the perimeter. The Wildcats dropped in 4-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first six minutes to craft a 16-8 edge before a 10-5 response from Xavier closed its gap to 21-18 after 9:51 of the first half.
 
Most of the Musketeers' damage was done inside by Zach Hankins who scored 10 of Xavier's first 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor.
 
With the Xavier defense extended to account for the Wildcats strength from deep, VU began to score inside off some slips to the basket. Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree was a beneficiary of several of the feeds and scored seven quick points to help VU establish a 29-20 edge with 7:17 left in the first period.
 
The Musketeers generated a 7-0 burst to pull back within 29-27. However, Villanova used a 2-3 defense late in the half and with Eric Paschall and Phil Booth providing the points, Villanova closed the period on a 10-4 burst. At halftime, the Wildcats held a 39-31 lead.
 
The 'Cats got five points from Booth in the first three plus minutes of the second half and pushed their advantage to 44-33. However, Xavier's defense slowed Villanova offense and the Musketeers heated up from deep, dropping in back-to-back 3-pointer to shave the deficit to 44-41 with 14:44 left in the contest. At one point, VU missed seven consecutive attempts from the field.
 
Cosby-Roundtree picked up his fourth personal foul with just under 13 minutes remaining in the period, further depleting a forward wall that was already without Cole Swider, who sustained a fractured bone in his right hand in a Thursday practice session and is out for an undetermined period.
 
Xavier held firm defensively and gradually chipped into the Villanova lead, cutting it to 48-47 with 11:38 to play in the second half. The teams traded 3-pointers before the 'Cats ripped off an 8-0 run to move out to a 59-50 lead. They were in control the rest of the way.
 
"I thought Dhamir gave us some really good minutes," stated Wright of the sophomore, who chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds.
 
Villanova connected on 50 percent of its attempts from the field (30-of-60) and won the battle of the glass, 39-34.
 
The Wildcats are next in action on Tuesday night when they will be in Indianapolis, Ind., to face Butler in a BIG EAST clash at historic Hinkle Field House. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and the broadcast can be viewed on FS1 and the radio call will be on 610 ESPN Radio in the Delaware Valley.