The No. 17 Marquette men’s basketball team struggled to score with regularity Saturday, as they fell 60-56 to Villanova in Philadelphia. Marquette dropped to 19-7 and 10-4 in the Big East with the loss, while the Wildcats improved to 18-10 and 9-6 in conference.

Darrun Hilliard led Villanova with 22 points, and JayVaughn Pinkston and Ryan Arcidiacono added 11 points each. Junior Cadougan (12 points) was the only player who scored in double figures for Marquette, who fell out of first place in the Big East.

The Golden Eagles controlled the glass, out rebounding the Wildcats 32-23. Even so, Marquette turned the ball over 19 times and Villanova only had 10 giveaways.

The Villanova home crowd made a huge difference, as senior night inspired the Wildcats to finish the Golden Eagles with a late run. The two teams were knotted at 22 at the half, but Nova pulled away and willed their way to victory with lockdown defense.

Marquette’s two leading scorers, Vander Blue and Davante Gardner, struggled from the field, shooting a combined 3-for-12 and scoring a combined 9 points.

The victory marked Villanova’s third victory over a first place team in the Big East this season. Previously, the Wildcats knocked off Lousiville and Syracuse.