Wildcat Wrap
 
Final Score: Xavier 56 Wildcats 53
 
Overview: Villanova twice dug itself out of holes, falling behind early in the first half to Xavier (13-10 overall, 7-5 BIG EAST) and again midway through second half, but fell short of completing the comeback, falling 56-53.
 
The Wildcats were within one point when Brendan Hausen scored three straight points to cut the deficit to 54-53 with 36.3 seconds left. But Xavier's Quincy Olivari drew a foul with the shot clock winding down and sank both free throws with 18.3 seconds left to make it a 56-53 game. Villanova was unable to get off a final shot attempt in the remaining time as the Musketeers used their length to chase it off the 3-point line.
 
"That was a tough Big East battle," noted head coach Kyle Neptune. "Hats off to Xavier. They made some tough shots down the stretch and got stops when they needed to. I thought our guys were resilient in battling all night."

Sophomore guard Brendan Hausen led the Wildcats with 15 points.
 
Musketeers Moved Out Quickly: Fueled by a pair of 3-pointers and a defense that held Villanova to 1-of-8 shooting over the first 6:18, Xavier built an early 10-2 edge, forcing the Wildcats to call for a timeout. The margin grew to 14-4 before five straight points from Tyler Burton narrowed the gap to 14-9 at the midway point of the first half.
 
Xavier answered instantly, however, scoring the next five points to move out to a 19-9 edge before Justin Moore sank a triple. Part of Xavier's success came thanks to five forced turnovers which led to a 7-0 margin in points off of turnovers through the game's first 12 minutes.
 
But the Wildcats stormed back via a 10-0 burst to tie the game at 19 with five minutes left in the period. When Hausen sank a deep 3-pointer at the 4:38 mark, Villanova had its first lead at 22-19. The stretch was ignited by defense as Villanova slowed the potent Xavier attack for a span that reached 5:25. An Abou Ousmane free throw ended the drought.
 
The Wildcats got 3-pointers from Eric Dixon and Hausen to build a 28-23 edge before Olivari sank a corner 3-pointer after the Musketeers forced a turnover to make it a 28-26 Villanova lead at the break.
 
Key Stat at the Break: Villanova limited the high-flying Musketeers – who averaged 85 points per game in their previous seven games to 10-of-30 shooting from the floor (.333), including 3-of-13 from distance (.231).
 
After Intermission: Points were hard to come by for both teams in the opening 4:19 of the second half. Villanova got two free throws from Mark Armstrong, but the Musketeers scored the next five points to claim a 31-30 lead at the first official timeout of the period.
 
A Hausen 3-pointer off a set out of bounds play gave the 'Cats the lead back at 33-31 before Xavier tied it on the next possession. However, Xavier used a 9-0 spurt to claim a 42-35 as the second half clock dipped below the 11 minute mark. TJ Bamba scored four straight points after a pair of defensive stops and the Wildcats were within 42-39 with 9:04 on the clock.
 
A Trey Green 3-pointer for Xavier extended its lead to 45-39. Hausen was subsequently fouled on a 3-point attempt and sank all three free throws to cut the deficit in half as the clock ticked toward the eight-minute mark.
 
The Wildcats kept the pressure on and tied at 50 when TJ Bamba scored on a left-handed drive to the goal with 5:17 on the clock.
 
Xavier moved back in front 52-50 on a dunk. After two Villanova possessions without points, Claude scored on a short jumper to push the edge to 54-50 with 2:26 on the clock. Hausen then scored on a drive from the right side to the goal to cut the lead to 54-52 just before the clock hit the 1-minute mark.
 
The sophomore guard was fouled as the 'Cats got a defensive stop and sank 1-of-2 at the line to make it a 54-53 Xavier lead with 36.0 seconds left. Olivari was fouled on a drive to the basket with the shot clock winding down and dropped in both free throws to make it 56-53 with 18.3 seconds to play.

Xavier prevented the Wildcats from attempting a 3-pointer on the final possession before the horn sounded.
 
What They Said: Neptune on the defense: "I thought we defended at a high level. Unfortunately, they got some key rebounds that led to key baskets at times. They edged it out."