Villanova, minus Reynolds, finds a way against Xavier

CINCINNATI - With its No. 2 rebounder sidelined and Xavier dominating the boards, Villanova appeared to be in some serious trouble Saturday trying to avoid an upset for the second straight season at the high-decibel Cintas Center.

But as they've done all season, the second-ranked Wildcats found a way again to deal with a situation. They locked down the No. 24 Musketeers at the defensive end, placed five players in double figures, and posted a 73-57 victory in a matchup of the top two teams in the Big East standings.

The Wildcats (24-2, 11-2 Big East) handed coach Jay Wright his 500th career victory with six players participating for all but three minutes because of a rib injury that sidelined starting forward Darryl Reynolds, their best post defender.

Without Reynolds, Villanova was outrebounded, 42-26. Xavier (18-7, 8-4) pulled down 22 offensive rebounds, as opposed to 21 defensive rebounds for the visitors, but managed only a 12-5 advantage on second-chance points and shot 35 percent from the field overall.

The Musketeers were hurt when their top scorer, junior guard Trevon Bluiett, the Big East's second-leading scorer, suffered a right ankle injury midway through the first half in a scramble for a loose ball. Bluiett went out for treatment and came back, but left the game for good with 18 minutes remaining.

After averaging 24.2 points in his previous six games, he went scoreless in 19 minutes Saturday.

"Trevon not being there makes a big difference, let's be honest," Wright said. "That's a great scorer in our league."

Wright, who said of No. 500 that "we're so into it, the next game, it really doesn't mean that much," was thrilled with the way the Cats were able to overcome the disadvantage on the boards.

"I felt we were smart about when we didn't get rebounds, not just whacking them and fouling them out of frustration," he said. "It's a natural reaction just to be frustrated and hammer the guy, and we didn't do that. We kept battling, so I was happy about that."

The Wildcats shot 51.9 percent for the game and committed just six turnovers, tying a season low. Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo each scored 17 points and Kris Jenkins 12. Josh Hart had 11 points - eight below his average - but added seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals, and found himself in the second half guarding 6-foot-9 Xavier centers RaShid Gaston and Tyrique Jones, both four inches taller than him.

Gaston, who scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, had nine points in the opening 5:16 of the second half as the Musketeers narrowed a 15-point deficit to seven, 47-40. But the 'Nova defense tightened and, with Bluiett out, Xavier made just two of its next 20 shots.

Jenkins' three-pointer capped an 11-4 run that gave the Wildcats a 58-44 advantage with 9 minutes to play. The Musketeers closed the gap to 10 with 3½ minutes left, but DiVincenzo and Hart hit back-to-back buckets to put the visitors out of danger.

"That's what we work for, the most difficult situations," Jenkins said. "Not having Darryl really hurts us because he's a great player, great rebounder, great defender. But we just keep with it, stick with it, keep a Villanova attitude, and just keep grinding."

Freshman Dylan Painter saw three minutes of playing time as the Cats' seventh man. Five players logged 32 or more minutes, led by Brunson and Hart with 36 each.

"I'm really proud of our senior leadership," Wright said, referring to Hart, Jenkins, and Reynolds. "I'm really proud of the way they led us in the game."

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq