PHILADELPHIA (AP) Eric Dixon scored 23 points, Jhamir Brickus had 15 of his 21 points in Villanova’s dominating first half and the Wildcats beat No. 16 Marquette 81-66 on Friday night.
Jordan Dumont added 15 points to help Villanova (16-12, 9-8 Big East) snap a two-game losing streak overall and eight-game skid against Marquette (20-7, 11-5). The Wildcats have knocked off Big East powers St. John’s, UConn and Marquette at home this season.
Zaide Lowery scored 25 points for Marquette (20-7, 11-5). The Golden Eagles have lost four of six.
The Wildcats seemingly couldn’t miss in the first half when they raced to a 46-33 advantage. But Villanova looked similarly good at UConn on Tuesday night, only to surrender a 14-point advantage in the final 11:58. In that contest, UConn scored 27 of the final 33 points.
But there was no letdown for the Wildcats in the second half against Marquette, which never got within double-digits after halftime.
Marquette: The Golden Eagles are still in good shape for an NCAA at-large bid but have found shakier ground with their recent play. With games at UConn and at home against St. John’s remaining, Marquette needs to regain its form soon.
Villanova: The Wildcats kept within striking distance of fifth-place Xavier, which holds a half-game lead over Villanova. The top five teams in the conference gets first-round byes in the conference tournament.
The entire first half for Villanova. Villanova led by 19, Brickus made all five of his 3-point tries and the Wildcats shot 80% from long range in the opening 20 minutes.
Villanova made 15 of 26 3-pointers.
Marquette hosts Providence on Tuesday night. Villanova is at Seton Hall on Wednesday night.
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| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| C. Ross | 11 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| K. Jones | 10 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| D. Joplin | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| B. Gold | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| S. Mitchell | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| Z. Lowery | 25 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| D. Owens | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| R. Parham | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| T. Norman | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| C. Hamilton | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| C. Brown | – | – | – | – |
| J. Lucas | – | – | – | – |
| J. Ciardo | – | – | – | – |
| C. O’Malley | – | – | – | – |
| J. Anderson | – | – | – | – |
| L. Jacobson | – | – | – | – |
| J. Clark | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 66 | 28 | 14 | 19 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| E. Dixon | 23 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| J. Brickus | 21 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| J. Longino | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| E. Boakye | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| W. Poplar | 5 | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| J. Dumont | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| T. Perkins | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| C. O’Toole | – | – | – | – |
| K. Parker | – | – | – | – |
| J. Moseley | – | – | – | – |
| M. Thomas | – | – | – | – |
| A. Gavalyugov | – | – | – | – |
| W. Chiddick | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 81 | 29 | 14 | 11 |