NEW YORK _ Villanova found itself staring at a deficit for the longest time in Friday night's Big East Tournament semifinal, and also at the possibility it would not get a chance to compete for a record third consecutive title in the event.
But the Wildcats got the tying basket on Eric Paschall's tip-in with 7.6 seconds left, and teamed with Phil Booth to score 10 points in overtime and spark the Cats to a 71-67 victory over Xavier before a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden.
Villanova (24-9), the top seed, will play the winner of Friday night's second semifinal between No. 2 seed Marquette and No. 3 Seton Hall in Saturday night's championship game.
Booth scored 28 points and Jermaine Samuels added 17, including three 3-point baskets in the final 7 minutes, 54 seconds of play counting the overtime period. Xavier (18-15) was led by Paul Scruggs with 28 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
The Wildcats had trailed since the 8:23 mark of the first half, and failed at several chances to tie the game in the second half. But they finally drew into a tie, 58-all, when Paschall tipped in Booth's missed layup try with 7.6 seconds to play. Collin Gillespie assured the extra period when he drew a charge on Naji Marshall with 1.6 seconds left.
After a tie at 60-60, Paschall gave the Wildcats the lead for good on a second-chance 3-point basket with 4:06 to play. After Xavier's Zach Hankins (18 points) hit a layup, Booth followed up his own miss, and Samuels drained a 3-pointer to give Villanova its largest lead of the night, 68-62, with 2:22 remaining.
The Musketeers got it to one possession, 69-66, on Quentin Goodin's dunk with 1:26 to play, but neither team scored until the 4.1-second mark when Scruggs went to the line for two free throws. He made the first and deliberately missed the second, but Paschall grabbed the rebound and sealed the win with a pair of free throws.
The Wildcats, who trailed by as many as 10 in the first half, shot poorly but defended well for the first 11 minutes of the second half. They twice drew to within two, the second time at 45-43 after Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree sank a layup with 10:31 to play.
Villanova had three chances to tie in two possessions after that but Jermaine Samuels missed a 3-pointer and Paschall misfired on a 3-ball and a jumper. Scruggs hit two free throws to make it a four-point game and the Musketeers grew the lead to seven, 55-48, on Goodin's banked follow-up shot with 4:41 to play.
However, Xavier didn't score for the next 3:37 and Villanova hit the next five points, a 3-point basket by Samuels and two free throws from Booth, to make it 55-53 with 2:17 to play. With a chance to tie, Booth took the ball into the lane against Naji Marshall, but his fallaway shot missed, and Hankins scored at the other end for the Musketeers with 1:04 left.
Samuels responded for Villanova with a 3-point basket that hit the front rim, the backboard and fell through with 48.9 seconds left. Hankins connected on one of two free throws with 19.9 seconds remaining, setting the stage for Paschall's tying basket.
The Wildcats shot 42.3 percent in the first half and committed eight turnovers. Musketeers made 10 of their last 16 shots in the first half and led by as many as 10 points before settling for a 34-28 advantage at halftime.
Booth led Villanova with 13 points in the period and connected on five of seven shots including three 3-pointers, but the rest of the team shot 6 of 19. The Musketeers scored 22 points in the paint and got 15 points from Scruggs, who made all five his attempts, including both 3-point tries.
The Wildcats limited Xavier to four baskets in the first 13 shots of the second half and drew to within two, 43-41, when Rashid Bey dunked the follow of Paschall's miss. Booth then had a chance to tie the game but his layup hung on the rim and fell off, and Hankins followed with a dunk for a four-point lead for the Musketeers.
The Wildcats had three shots to tie the game from 45-43 but missed all three.
