NEWARK, N.J. – A slow start cost the Villanova Wildcats Saturday as they dropped a 79-75 decision to Seton Hall in the regular season finale for both teams. The Wildcats fell to 22-9 overall, 13-5 in the BIG EAST while the Pirates upped their mark to 18-12 overall, 9-9 BIG EAST.
 
The Wildcats never led, though they shaved what became a 16 point deficit early in the second half to one late in the second half. Seton Hall was buoyed by 18 offensive rebounds and 13-of-27 accuracy from beyond the 3-point arc (.481). VU hung in on the strength of its own long ball work (also 13-of-27 from the field).
 
Sophomore Collin Gillespie led all scorers with 22 points. Seton Hall's Myles Powell – limited to three points in the team's first meeting back in January – finished with 20 points. Phil Booth added 16 points for the 'Cats.
 
"They were locked in and ready to play right from the start," stated VU head coach Jay Wright. "They were playing with a lot of confidence. For whatever reason, we didn't seem as ready and that's our job as a coaching staff. We battled back but I thought the start really hurt us."
 
Seton Hall carried some of the momentum of Wednesday night's 18-0 closing burst in its win over to the early minutes of this one. It scored the game's first five points and grabbed an early 7-2 lead after 3:33 of action before a boisterous crowd at the Prudential Center.
 
Production from Jermaine Samuels – five early points – and a deep 3-pointer from Booth got the Wildcats to within 10-8 before a 9-4 burst by Seton Hall allowed the Pirates to craft a 19-12 lead with just under 11 minutes on the first half clock. A turnover led to a pair of free throws from Jared Rhoden made it a 24-15 lead for the Pirates.
 
Even more concerning was that Booth picked up his second personal foul in that sequence.
 
Some long range firepower from Gillespie got the Wildcats back to within 24-23. However, Seton Hall responded with a 10-0 run, capped by Powell's third deep ball of the day. Villanova, meanwhile, was mired in a scoring drought of 3:25. By the time the first half horn sounded, the Hall had outscored the 'Cats 15-4 to take a 39-28 lead at intermission.
 
The Pirates were 7-of-14 from long range in the period and held a 10-0 edge in second chance points thanks to eight offensive rebounds. Gillespie paced the Wildcats with 13 points in the period.
 
Seton Hall scored the first five points of the second half to gain its largest lead of the day at 44-28. But Eric Paschall led the Wildcats on a 13-0 run to shave the deficit to 44-41 after 5:13 had come off the second half clock. A Myles Cale 3-pointer ended the run.
 
Gillespie then picked up his fourth personal foul a short while later. Paschall was whistled for his third foul at the 13:31 mark.
 
The next surge belonged to the Hall, which used a 12-4 run capped by a long bomb of a triple to Powell to establish a 56-45 lead. Yet Villanova came right back, spurred by Booth this time, to go on a 13-5 burst to shave the gap to 61-58 with 7:20 on the clock.

 Despite climbing to within 66-65 after a pair of Gillespie free throws, the Wildcats never could gain the upper hand. Offensive rebounding proved critical for the Pirates on several late possessions and a put-back by Sandro Mamukelashvili with just over two minutes to play gave the Pirates a 70-65 lead. Powell found Cale for a 3-pointer on the left wing with 90 seconds left to make it 73-65.
 
The Wildcats made it a one possession game but could never deliver the blow that put them in front.

 "We had some turnovers that really hurt us down the stretch," said Wright. The Wildcats committed 14 turnovers on the day and that the Hall held a 13-5 edge in points scored off those miscues.
 
Villanova now turns its attention to the 2019 BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep, which gets underway for the Wildcats this Thursday at Madison Square Garden.