NEW YORK, N.Y. – A breathtaking effort from senior guard Phil Booth and some clutch work in the final minutes from Eric Paschall and Jermaine Samuels carried Villanova to a thrilling 71-67 overtime victory over No. 4 seed Xavier (18-15 overall, 9-9 BIG EAST) Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
 
Villanova advances to the BIG EAST title game for the fifth consecutive season.
 
The Wildcats (24-9 overall, 13-5 BIG EAST) trailed for most of the night. It wasn't until a tip in by Paschall with six seconds left forged a tie at 58. Then in overtime, Booth (28 points, seven rebounds and five assists) led the way as Villanova outscored the Musketeers 13-9 before a sold out house at the World's Most Famous Arena.
 
"What a fun game to be a part of," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "When you win, it's a lot more fun. Either way, the atmosphere in the Garden, Friday night, semifinals, there's just nothing like it in college basketball. That place was rocking."
 
"Really proud of our guys. It's really gratifying as a coach to see young people under pressure in a really tense environment keep a positive attitude and stick to our core values, stick together, and just grind it out, man. If you can take that into life and handle everything in life, that way you're going to be a pretty successful guy. I was really, really proud that they got to experience that, and I was proud that they did it."
 
Wright was asked to put Booth's heroic effort into perspective.
 
"Right now," he stated, "it's the greatest ever. It's the only one I can remember right now."
 
Samuels also played an essential role in the win, contributing 17 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists. Samuels hit a series of critical 3-pointers in the game's final minutes or regulation and overtime to make this victory possible.
 
Paul Scruggs scored 28 points for Xavier.
 
"Congratulations to Villanova," said Musketeers coach Travis Steele. "They've got a really good team. It's a high-level game today. That's what everyone would expect for a Big East semifinal game. Obviously, our guys were excited to play and have the opportunity to compete against Villanova. We competed hard, man."
 
The story of the early minutes was Booth, who scored five of the Wildcats' first seven points over 4:30 to help VU gain an early 7-6 edge. Paschall then scored Villanova's next five points as the Wildcats held a 12-10 lead after 8:01 of the first half.
 
However, a 7-0 burst by Xavier midway through the period tilted the game in the Musketeers' favor, allowing it to grab a 19-15 lead. A short jumper from freshman Saddiq Bey snapped that run before Scruggs drained a 3-pointer at the 6:19 mark of the first half. That gave Xavier a 22-17 lead.
 
The Musketeers surge didn't ebb there. At one point Xavier converted seven straight field goals, capped by a step-back 3-pointer by Paul Scruggs. Scruggs had 14 of the Musketeers' 29 points and Villanova was staring up at a 29-20 deficit with 3:58 to play before halftime.
 
Villanova tightened up defensively and got five points from sophomore Jermaine Samuels to pull within 34-28 at halftime. Booth's 13 points led the Wildcats while Scruggs paced the Musketeers with 15.
 
The Wildcats slowed Xavier in the early moments of the second half and were able to chip away at the margin, pulling to within 43-41 before a Zach Hankins dunk pushed the Musketeers lead to 45-41. That's where matters stood with a little over 11 minutes to play.
 
But each time the Wildcats got close, Xavier had an answer, usually in the person of Hankins or Scruggs. The Musketeer lead was 50-47 after a Collin Gillespie basket before Scruggs dropped in a deep 3-pointer from the left wing to move the margin to 53-47 with 5:33 to play.
 
The Wildcats battled back to within 58-57 before a Hankins' free throw with 19.9 seconds made it 59-57. A short jumper from Booth was off target but Paschall raised up to tip it in with seven seconds on the clock.
 
"The bench was yelling at me, 'offensive glass'," stated Paschall, "and I saw Booth drive. I was on the weak side. Most shots go off on the weak side. I was thinking aggressive rebounding and the ball was there. I just tipped it in, and that was it."
 
Xavier had plenty of time to advance the ball up court and Naji Marshall drove to the basket before being whistled for a charging foul, his fifth of the night. Sophomore guard Collin Gillespie stepped in and took the charge.
 
"Collin's so valuable to our team," Wright said. "He does all the little things. Obviously, he's had big nights scoring. Defensively, he's always one of the smallest guys on the court, and he's one of the toughest. He'll out-rebound big guys sometimes, but that charge was huge, man. That was a big play."
 
That sent the contest to overtime.
 
Xavier scored first but then 3-pointers from Paschall and Samuels helped VU craft a 68-62. The Wildcats held on with Paschall sinking a pair of decisive free throws after Xavier had closed to within 69-67 with 4.1 seconds on the clock.