CINCINNATI _ On a day when its 3-point shots weren't falling, Villanova had to find a variety of other ways Saturday to get the ball in the basket.
After making 35 3-pointers in their previous two games, the 12th-ranked Wildcats connected on only seven Saturday against Xavier. But they shot 56% from inside the arc and got 22 points from Saddiq Bey in a 64-55 victory, their fourth consecutive win.
The Wildcats (21-6, 10-4 Big East) also rode some excellent defense against the Musketeers (17-10, 6-8), who made just 35.7% of their shots. When Xavier made its last run, cutting what was once a 14-point lead to seven, 46-39, on Tyrique Jones' tip-in with 7:42 to play, the home team went the next 5:19 without a field goal.
The Villanova lead during that time got to 16, 57-41, on Bey's two free throws with 4:22 remaining. The Wildcats didn't score again for two minutes and the Musketeers got it to 10, but a 3-ball by Bey and a layup from Jermaine Samuels clinched the win.
Bey ended up with four of the Wildcats' seven 3-point baskets and in leading all scorers. Samuels, showing a nifty range of shots from 10 feet and in, added 17 to go with eight rebounds.
Collin Gillespie, who knocked down a combined 12 3-pointers against Temple and DePaul, didn't make a single three in six attempts Saturday and scored just four points on 2-of-11 shooting. But he handed out six assists, including a pair to Samuels on a back-door layup and a 3-pointer.
Tyrique Jones, the Big East's leading rebounder, pulled down 14 and led Xavier with 17 points, and Naji Marshall added 15.
The Wildcats limited Xavier to just 4-of-16 shooting in the first 11 minutes and held an 18-10 lead. The margin creeped up to 11 on a follow-up 3-point basket by Bey, and a dunk by Bey made it 25-16 before the Musketeers hit 4 of 5 shots in a 9-2 run that cut the lead to 25-21 with 4:18 remaining.
But Villanova shut Xavier down from that point, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl's layup and a conventional three-point play by Justin Moore gave the Cats a 30-21 lead at the break.
