Villanova Wildcats vs Butler Bulldogs Box Score on Jan 22, 2019

Eric Paschall scored 23 points, Phil Booth added 17 and No. 18 Villanova defeated host Butler 80-72 on Tuesday in Indianapolis.

Collin Gillespie contributed 11 points for the Wildcats, who won their seventh in a row after starting the season 8-4. They also improved to 6-0 in the Big East and remain the lone team to stay undefeated in league play.

Villanova also snapped a two-game losing streak at Butler.

Aaron Thompson led Butler (12-8, 3-4 Big East) with 15 points while Sean McDermott added 14. Kamar Baldwin and Jordan Tucker also had 11 apiece.

There were seven lead changes in the first eight minutes with Villanova (15-4, 6-0) holding a slim 16-15 advantage.

Paschall's fourth 3-pointer gave Villanova a 26-23 lead with 8:50 remaining.

Butler fell behind 33-25 before McDermott connected on a deep trey to get back within 33-28 with 5:06 left.

After the Bulldogs pulled within 38-37, Booth hit a late 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 41-37 lead at halftime.

Paschall (14) and Booth (13) scored 27 of Villanova's 41 points in the half.

Baldwin led Butler with seven points.

Amazingly, the teams combined for only three turnovers in the first half -- two by Villanova and one by Butler.

Butler took an early 44-43 lead in the second half on a Nate Fowler jumper, but that would be the last lead of the game for the Bulldogs. The Wildcats responded with consecutive 3-pointers by Saddiq Bey and Gillespie for a 49-44 advantage. Gillespie hit another trey with 15:01 remaining for a 52-44 lead.

After a Butler miss, Gillespie knocked down another 3-pointer for an 11-point lead at 55-44.

The Bulldogs tallied the next four points with Joey Brunk scoring in spectacular fashion as he jumped high in the air to complete a basket off a long pass.

McDermott's fourth 3-pointer closed Butler's deficit to 57-51, but Paschall's fifth trey pushed Villanova to a 68-56 lead with 6:27 left.

Butler scored the next five points to cut the gap to 68-61.

The Wildcats pulled away down the stretch with 12 consecutive free throws to aid in the clutch road victory.

--Field Level Media