CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Nobody on the current Villanova roster had even been born the last time the Wildcats stood alone atop the Big East. The 32-year drought ended Thursday night when Darrun Hilliard scored 19 points and No. 6 Villanova clinched the outright Big East championship for the first time since the 1981-82 season by holding off undermanned Xavier 77-70. The Wildcats, playing before a hostile standing-room only crowd of 10,340 in their first visit to Cintas Center, overcame a determined Musketeers team in what Villanova coach Jay Wright described as a "great, intense college basketball environment." "Youre not going to win championships unless you win on the road," Wright said. "We have great respect for this league. To win this league is a hell of an accomplishment." JayVaughn Pinkston added 15 points -- eight in the last 3:20 -- James Bell finished with 12 and Ryan Arcidiacono chipped in 11 as the Wildcats (27-3, 15-2 Big East) extended their school record for regular-season wins with their fifth straight and 11th in their last 12 games. They also clinched the top seed in the Big East tournament, which starts Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in New York. "This is a big accomplishment," Bell said. "Its a testament to how hard weve worked, but we cant stop there." The Wildcats went into the night with a 1 1-2 game lead over No. 13 Creighton in the Big East and two games remaining. The Bluejays have one game to play. Villanova, which last shared the title in a co-championship with Syracuse in 2005-06, wraps up its regular season Saturday at home against Georgetown. Justin Martin had 20 points for Xavier (20-11, 10-8) while Semaj Christon added 18 points and Isaiah Philmore finished with 15. The Musketeers ended the regular season with consecutive losses. Xavier struggled from 3-point range finishing 6 of 23, while Villanova was 9 for 23. The game was Xaviers first without 6-foot-10 junior centre Matt Stainbrook, who started each of the Musketeers previous 30 before straining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in their 71-62 loss at Seton Hall on Monday. Stainbrook watched the game from the bench wearing a tan suit and bow tie. "Us not having Matt was tough, but I think we learned more about each other," Philmore said. "It didnt turn out the way we wanted it to, obviously, but we stuck together. It just wasnt enough. Sometimes, its not always enough." Xaviers regular-season finale was its second consecutive home game against a Top 10 team and the second straight to attract a standing-room only crowd. The Wildcats never trailed after Arcidiacono made two free throws for a 29-28 lead with 5:11 left in the first half. Villanova, which beat Xavier 81-58 on Feb. 3 for the Musketeers worst loss of the season, led by as many as 12 points. The lead dwindled to three before Josh Hart and Bell made two free throws each in the final 19.4 seconds. "We knew they wouldnt go away," Wright said. "They played without one of their best players. We caught a break there." The Wildcats had no surprises, Musketeers coach Chris Mack said. "They were what we saw on film," he said. "This was our first game without Matt, so that was a little bit different, but we competed. We didnt quite have enough to beat Villanova." Hilliard, averaging 14.1 points per game, had 15 to help the Wildcats take a 41-36 halftime lead. Martin, who went into the game averaging 11.2 points, scored 12 in the first half for Xavier. Kirk Gibson Jersey . 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Villar connected off Joe Saunders (11-14), sending a drive well over the left-field fence for his first career homer. The Astros scored six times in the first three innings to chase Saunders.UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Islanders captain John Tavares had the puck on his stick late in overtime, hesitated to force Washington defenceman Karl Alzner out of position, then whipped the puck past goaltender Braden Holtby as New York won another nail-biter.When I got it there, I had a good feeling their defence was in a tough spot, said Tavares, who heard chants of MVP, MVP from the sellout crowd of 16,170 at Nassau Coliseum. I kind of froze them and created an angle. It felt good to see it go in.The 3-2 victory Wednesday night over the Capitals was the fifth straight for the Islanders and moved them to 16-6-0. Theyve won 10 of 11 to tie Pittsburgh for first place in the Metropolitan Division, though the Penguins have a game in hand.The goal was the ninth this season for Tavares, set up on a cross-ice feed from Ryan Strome. It came at 4:36 with two seconds left on a penalty to Washingtons Nicklas Backstrom for holding the stick.Tavares was mobbed by teammates as roars cascaded down from the rafters. New York is 8-2-0 at home thus far in their final season on Long Island before moving to Brooklyn in 2015.The Islanders also won for the seventh time in extra time — twice in overtime. Coach Jack Capuano had a hard time explaining why his team is perfect past regulation — though five of the victories are in shootouts.New York had all five shots in overtime.All I can say is that guys want the puck on their sticks in those stages of the game, he said.The Islanders have set a franchise record by winning 16 of their first 22 games.Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves for his eighth straight win. He has allowed only 10 goals in those eight wins.Everyone has played well for us, added Tavares, who leads the team with 21 points. At any point in time, any guy can step up. And obviously Jaro is playing great. We just want to keep it going.Anders Lee and Travis Hamonic scored first-period goals for the Islanders, while Alex Ovechkiin scored two power-play goals for the Capitals in his 700th NHL game.ddddddddddddWe played a great game, but they got a power play in overtime and that was the difference, Ovechkin said.New York is 10-2 in November. Last season the Islanders were 4-10-1 during the month and didnt win their 16th game until Jan. 7. The boisterous home crowd certainly provides a boost.We can all feel it on the bench, Capuano said. The energy is awesome.The Capitals (9-8-4) have been inconsistent under new coach Barry Trotz, the teams fourth coach in four seasons, and fell behind early.Lee opened the scoring at 5:11, tapping a rebound past Holtby for his fourth goal. Strome and Brock Nelson assisted.Ovechkin tied the game at 1-1 at 13:46 of the first on a one-timer from the left circle for his 10th of the season. He scored again at 18:47 of the second to tie the game again after Lee received an extra two minutes for roughing during a fight with Washingtons Tom Wilson. The goal was the 433rd for the Russian forward.Hamonic had given New York a 2-1 lead at 17:38 of the first with a power-play goal off assists from Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas. The Islanders have 12 goals from their defence this season. They had 23 goals from the defence all of last season.The Islanders, coming off a 1-0 home shootout win over Philadelphia on Monday, improved to 8-1 against Metropolitan Division opponents and are 10-1-0 in games decided by a single goal.The teams complete a home-and-home series in Washington on Friday.I think the next game will be different for them and for us as well, Ovechkin said.NOTES: Islanders defencemen Thomas Hickey and Calvin de Haan returned after one-game absences because of illness. . New York scratched reserve defencemen Matt Donovan and Brian Strait plus forward Cory Conacher. . The Capitals scratched injured defenceman Mike Green (upper body) and forwards Brooks Laich and Michael Latta. ' ' '