Zach Freemantle had 29 points and 11 rebounds and No. 18 Xavier defeated host Villanova 88-80 on Saturday.
Souley Boum hit all 10 free throws and added 22 points and 10 rebounds and Adam Kunkel contributed 15 points for the Musketeers (13-3, 5-0 Big East), who won their ninth in a row. Colby Jones added 11 points.
The Musketeers have started conference play 5-0 for the first time since joining in 2013-14. It was also Xavier’s first-ever win in Villanova’s on-campus arena.
Cam Whitmore led Villanova (8-8, 2-3) with 26 points while Caleb Daniels added 23 and Eric Dixon had 19.
Villanova played without Justin Moore (Achilles) and Jordan Longino (left leg).
Xavier used an early 11-0 run to take a 16-7 lead with 14:06 remaining in the first half.
Whitmore hit a tough layup and added a two-handed dunk to stop the surge by the Musketeers.
When Dixon broke free in the lane and scored with 8:10 left, the Wildcats closed within 18-17. Whitmore followed with a 3-pointer for a two-point lead.
The Musketeers turned the ball over four times over a span of 6:20 to fall behind.
Freemantle grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 7:18 remaining to tie the game at 20.
Xavier led 35-31 at halftime thanks in large part to eight points apiece from Freemantle and Kunkel.
Whitmore paced Villanova with 12 in the first half.
Daniels drove to the basket and scored with 17:34 left to tie the game at 37.
The Musketeers went ahead 44-41 when Jones knocked down a trey with 15:58 remaining.
After Whitmore responded with a 3-pointer, Xavier then scored the next five points – a layup by Freemantle and a trey by Jack Nunge.
Kunkel hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 12:32 to go to extend the Musketeers lead to 55-47.
Dixon came back with a three-point play for Villanova.
Whitmore completed a three-point play with 7:48 left to close within 59-55.
Freemantle dropped in a 3-pointer and added a layup with 4:54 remaining for a 66-57 advantage. It could have been a three-point play, but Freemantle missed the free throw.
Villanova cut the deficit to 76-72 with 59.9 seconds left following Daniels’ trey from the corner.
–Field Level Media
