NEW YORK, N.Y. – With an exciting 74-72 victory here Saturday night over Seton Hall, Villanova earned itself a place in history.
 
The Wildcats (25-9 overall) earned their third consecutive BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep championship in dramatic fashion. Villanova survived a late charge that saw the Pirates (20-13 overall) nearly erase a nine point deficit in the final three minutes. Only after a missed Myles Powell 3-pointer in the final 8.9 seconds and a Phil Booth rebound followed by a defensive stop, could the 'Cats exhale.
 
Booth, who scored 16 points to go with four rebounds, was named winner of the Dave Gavitt Award as the BIG EAST Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Eric Paschall, who led the 'Cats with 17 points and eight rebounds, was named to the BIG EAST All-Tournament team. Freshman Saddiq Bey posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in a game played before 19,812 at Madison Square Garden.
 
"This is thrilling because we really relish the opportunity to play in this building, in this league," stated VU head coach Jay Wright, whose teams have won 14 of their last 15 BIG EAST Tournament games. "We want to give a lot of credit to Seton Hall. Kevin (Willard) has done an amazing job with this Seton Hall team. They could easily have won this game."
 
The Wildcats overcame a sluggish first half at the offensive end and then saw the Pirates heat up offensively in the second half. Each time Villanova seemed ready to take control, Seton Hall stormed.
 
"If you look at their games this year," noted Wright, "they've done that a lot. They're relentless and it took great resolve from our guys to have kept a great attitude."
 
The Hall scored on its first two offensive possessions to grab a quick 5-0 lead before Bey answered with a drive and basket for the Wildcats. Paschall then dropped in a short jumper to shave the gap to 5-4 before a Bey 3-pointer from the right wing gave Villanova its first lead at 7-5.
 
With game nearly at the midpoint of the first half, Villanova had crafted a 17-11 lead with Paschall's offense fueling the engine (nine points). The Wildcats extended the advantage to 25-18. But with a bit more than six minutes to play in the first period sophomore starters Samuels and Collin Gillespie were whistled for their second fouls and went to the bench.
 
Seton Hall reeled off five straight points to draw within 25-23 with 3:33 to play in the first half. Samuels returned to the court at that point. Two more scoreless possessions by Villanova allowed the Pirates to reclaim the lead on a Myles Cale 3-pointer. The Wildcats then sank a free throw and got a tip-in of a missed shot by Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree just before the halftime buzzer sounded to take a 28-26 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
Paschall (11 points), Bey and Gillespie (seven points each) combined to score 25 of the 'Cats 28 points in the period. After sinking 8-of-15 to open the period, Villanova was just 2-of-12 over the final nine minutes of the stanza. Fortunately, its own gritty defense allowed it to hold the lead at intermission.
 
The Pirates, though, opened the second half the same way they had the first with a 5-0 burst to take a 31-28 lead in the first two minutes of the half. Powell – who led all scorers with 25 points - then followed with his second 3-ball of the period and it was 34-28.
 
A 9-0 burst lifted Villanova to a 41-34 lead but Seton Hall ignited its offense, using a 10-3 run to forge a tie at 44 six minutes into the period. The Wildcats regained the lead and made it 53-48 on a pair of Cosby-Roundtree free throws. But the Pirates snapped off a 7-0 run to move back in front at 55-53 midway through the period.
 
Three pointers from Paschall and Booth gave Villanova a 61-57 lead but the Pirates came right back on a Cale basket to narrow the gap to 61-59 with just over seven minutes to play. A series of defensive stops – bolstered by the work of Cosby-Roundtree near the basket and on the glass set up another clutch 3-pointer from Samuels, who buried an attempt from the corner to give the Wildcats a 66-59 lead with 3:34 on the clock.
 
Two Booth free throws pushed the edge to 68-59 before a 5-0 Seton Hall response closed the margin to 68-64 with 2:22 to go in the period.
 
That set up a frantic finish. Two turnovers in the final minute helped the Hall creep closer. Paschall was fouled on an inbounds play with 13.3 seconds left and sank one of two at the line, making it a 74-72 lead. Powell's long distance attempt was long and Booth pulled down the rebound. He was called for a traveling violation but Seton Hall couldn't muster another attempt with only 0.4 seconds on the clock.
 
"It's cool to hear that," stated Paschall of becoming the first school to win three straight BIG EAST Tournament crowns. "But it's not something we've ever talked about. We just focus on trying to be the best Villanova Basketball team we can be and see where that takes us."
 
"We've been blessed," added Booth, "to play with a lot of great teammates."
 
Villanova – which secured an automatic NCAA Tournament bid with this victory - will next gather as a team on Sunday afternoon to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show at Finneran Pavilion. Doors open to the public at 5:45 p.m. and admission is free.