National Basketball Association
Villanova 69, Xavier 52
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 14, 2015
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Officials:
# Jeffrey Anderson, # James Breeding, # Ed Corbett
Attendance:
13471
By SportsDirect Inc.
Villanova 69, Xavier 52: Dylan Ennis had 16 points and six rebounds as the Wildcats won their first Big East Conference title since 1995 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Josh Hart added 15 points off the bench for Villanova, which was playing in its first conference final since 1997, two years after winning its only title. Darrun Hilliard II contributed 12 points and Phil Booth scored eight in a reserve role for the Wildcats (32-2), who made half of their 48 field goal attempts.
Dee Davis and Jalen Reynolds scored 13 points apiece to lead Xavier (21-13), which missed 13-of-15 from 3-point range. Matt Stainbrook and Trevon Bluiett, who came in averaging 12.2 and 12 points, respectively, combined for six points on 3-for-14 shooting for the Musketeers.
Xavier took its only lead at 4-3 on Remy Abell's second straight basket, but Ennis answered on the other end of the floor, and a 6-0 run later in the opening half opened up a 13-6 lead. Hilliard's 3-pointer ignited a 13-2 run that gave Villanova a 30-16 lead with 4:04 left in the first half and the Wildcats eventually took a 34-21 advantage into the half.
An 8-0 run by Villanova to start the second half put Xavier in an even bigger hole before the Musketeers tried to rally behind a three-point play from Reynolds that trimmed the deficit to 14 with 11:40 left. Both sides traded points before a 7-0 burst put Xavier back down by 20 with just under eight minutes remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Xavier fell to 0-5 against Villanova since joining the Big East and the Wildcats remain the only team in the conference the Musketeers haven't beaten. ... Hart shot 7-for-9 from the field to finish at 21-for-29 for the tournament. ... The Wildcats have won 15 straight games, which matches their longest winning streak in program history, previously set over the 1949-50 and 1950-51 seasons.
Top Game Performances
| Xavier |
|
Villanova |
|
Dee Davis 13 |
Scoring |
Dylan Ennis 16 |
|
Dee Davis 6 |
Assists |
Dylan Ennis 3 |
|
James Farr 7 |
Rebounds |
Josh Hart 7 |
|
Dee Davis 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Dylan Ennis 4 |
|
Remy Abell 1 |
Steals |
Darrun Hilliard 2 |
|
Jalen Reynolds 1 |
Blocks |
Dylan Ennis 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Xavier
|
52 |
37.9 |
2-15 |
6-9 |
12 |
23 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
| Villanova
|
69 |
50.0 |
9-23 |
12-17 |
15 |
32 |
4 |
6 |
13 |
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