Villanova closed the game with a 12-1 run over the last five minutes to defeat No. 10 Marquette 67-61 at Finneran Pavilion. The win ended the Wildcats’ first three-game losing streak in six years and moved the reigning national champions (21-8, 12-4) to within a half-game of the first place Golden Eagles (23-5, 12-3).
Wildcat forward Jermaine Samuels, who entered the game with a 4.4 scoring average, poured in a game-high 29 points. With 15 points at halftime, he already had notched his career scoring high. Phil Booth added 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Markus Howard scored 25 points for Marquette and became the 44th player in BIG EAST history to reach 1,000 points in league regular-season play.