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VILLANOVA, Pa. ââ'¬" After scorching the nets in their first two BIG EAST Conference encounters of 2015-16, Villanova (13-2 overall, 3-0 BIG EAST) turned to an old friend to help pull it through against Seton Hall.

The sound defense that has often pulled the Wildcats through on off shooting nights did so again on Wednesday night at the Pavilion.

A 20-point, 18-rebound by senior Daniel Ochefu helped the Wildcats overcome a challenging offensive night to defeat Seton Hall (12-3 overall, 2-1 BIG EAST) 72-63. Classmate and fellow captain Ryan Arcidiacono added 11 points and three assists while junior Josh Hart got past early foul trouble to finish with a double-double of his own (15 points, 10 rebounds to go with four assists).

The No. 11 Wildcats limited the Pirates to .356 shooting on the night which allowed them to overcome an spotty shooting night of their own: 21-of-58 (.362) from the floor and just 4-of-22 from beyond the arc (.182).

In marked contrast to Villanova's first two BIG EAST wins ââ'¬" where the Wildcats twice connected on better than 60 percent of their field goals (averaging .654 accuracy in the process) ââ'¬" this was an occasion where grit counted far more than any other ingredient.

"That was a tough BIG EAST game, an old school BIG EAST game," stated head coach Jay Wright. "It was ugly to watch, ugly to coach in, but you have to grind those out and find ways to win. I thought our two seniors were tough and I do not know if the (young guys) were ready for that physical of a game. We will learn and get better."

The Wildcats got four early points from their captains, Ochefu and Arcidiacono to grab a 6-2 edge before the Hall ran off eight consecutive points to grab the lead.

Villanova, though, leaned on its work at the defensive end and forced turnovers to regain the lead. Junior Kris Jenkins dropped in the Wildcats only successful 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes ââ'¬" they were just 2-of-14 in the period ââ'¬" to help craft a 24-16 lead with 4:23 to play in the half.

The Pirates made a late charge in the period to shave the gap to 30-23 at intermission.

The Wildcats scored the first six points of the second half to move their margin out to 38-28 but the Pirates responded. Khadeen Carrington (14 points) and Isaiah Whitehead (20 points) keyed a 12-4 spurt that pulled the Pirates to within 42-40 with 11:46 to play in the contest.

A pair of free throws by redshirt freshman Mikal Bridges were followed by two more at the line from Jenkins and the Wildcats' lead was back to 46-40 at the 11:21 mark. From there, Villanova did the work necessary to craft a 67-52 advantage with 2:52 to play before a late surge by Seton Hall brought the final count to 72-63.

" We knew coming into the game that Seton Hall was going to bring it," said Arcidiacono. "Every single game that we have watched on tape they have brought a tough mentality.

"So we knew that coming into the game it wasn't going to be pretty offensively and we were going to have to get those stops. We did that in the first half and it got away from us in the second half when we started to make shots. We let the offense take over us rather than getting stops and continuing what we do defensively."

Ochefu continued his torrid start in BIG EAST play, following a 19-point, seven carom effort at Creighton with tonight's 20-point, 18 carom double-double.

"I love these types of games, and I know that our team loves them as well," stated Ochefu. "Our practices are even uglier than this game. It is something we work on every day (so) we expect that type of game."

Next up for the Wildcats ââ'¬" who now stand alone atop the BIG EAST at 3-0 - is a road test at Butler on Sunday evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse (7:30 p.m./FS1 and 610 Sports Radio WTEL).

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