It may not have played out exactly how Villanova fans would have liked, but the ‘Cats stayed hot Wednesday night, winning their fifth straight game with a 64-60 win over No. 17 Xavier.

Through the first eight minutes of the first half, the game played out the way you would expect a matchup of top 25 teams to go. The teams traded blows and the lead, with neither team leading by more than three.

From there, the Wildcats tried to gain a little separation, going up as many as six. A Jerome Hunter jumper pulled Xavier to within four with 9:53 to play in the half but Villanova would proceed to rip off a 17-4 run break open the game and push the lead to 17 with 4:12 to go, quieting a raucous Cintas Center crowd.

Xavier showed some impressive composure, however, and managed to trim the lead to 11 at the break.

Offense was hard to come by in the first half, and neither team shot the ball particularly well. ‘Nova connected on 37.5% overall and 27.3% form 3 while Xavier hit just 28% overall and 16.7% from 3.

One thing clearly jumps out and helps explain how Villanova was able to open a double-digit lead. Through the first five and a half minutes, Xavier opened a 9-4 advantage on the glass and a 4-1 edge in offensive rebounds. By the end of the half, the Wildcats were winning the rebounding battle 24-15. Xavier didn’t secure a single offensive rebound after the 14:28 mark of the first half, while ‘Nova pulled down eight to take a 9-4 advantage in that category. The result was a 12-0 edge for ‘Nova in second-chance points.

Villanova also played excellent interior defense, holding Xavier to 5-13 on 2-point attempts. The ‘Cats had a 14-8 advantage in the paint.

Villanova’s lead hovered between 10 and 13 through the first five minutes of the second half. But a Nate Johnson 3 with 14:11 to go pulled the Musketeers back within single digits at seven and set the stage for a wild final 14 minutes.

With the Cintas Center rocking once again, the Wildcats did everything they could to hold the Musketeers at bay and managed to get the lead back to 12 with 9:54 to play on an Eric Dixon old fashioned 3-point play. But Xavier would answer with a 10-0 run over the next five and a half minutes to pull within two before Collin Gillespie was finally able to stop the bleeding with a layup.

Xavier wasn’t done, tying the game with 2:17 to play on a Paul Scruggs 3. But Villanova was able to make enough plays over the final two minutes to get out of Cintas with a hard-fought 64-60 win. Justin Moore was incredibly clutch for the ‘Cats over those final two minutes, answering Scruggs’ 3 with an old fashioned 3-point play of his own and then going 4-4 from the free throw line over the last 16 seconds to ice the game.

While watching the 17-point lead slip away was incredibly stressful for ‘Nova fans and it’s never ideal to let a team back into the game like that, Xavier is a very good team and wasn’t going to go away, especially on its home floor. For Villanova to be able to keep its composure, weather the storm and make enough plays down the stretch to get out of there with a win is incredibly impressive and encouraging.

Villanova continued its recent run of excellent inside play, getting the better of things inside against a team you would expect to have an advantage down low. The ‘Cats again did a good job on Zach Freemantle (three points, 1-6 shooting) and Jack Nunge (nine points, 2-6 shooting). ‘Nova finished with a 40-32 edge on the boards, a 12-8 edge in second-chance points and a 26-22 advantage in points in the paint.

Moore was absolutely fantastic for the ‘Cats, finishing with 19 points on 5-9 shooting, nine rebounds and two assists. Gillespie didn’t have his best shooting night but was strong attacking the basket and running the offense. He had 21 points, three rebounds and two assists. Eric Dixon had an excellent game as well, chipping in 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.

The Wildcats were also an impressive 20-21 from the free throw line, including 7-7 from Moore, 5-5 from Gillespie and 5-5 from Dixon.

It was a great job by Villanova to close this one out after giving up the big lead, especially in a hostile environment. The Wildcats add another ranked win to the resume, moved to 4-4 in Quad 1 games (tied for most Quad 1 wins pending some other Wednesday results) and took sole possession of first place in the Big East.

The ‘Cats will now prepare to host Butler on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.