PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – No. 12 Seton Hall (18-5 overall, 10-1 BIG EAST) used a 9-3 surge to open the second half as a catalyst to help it down No. 10 Villanova 70-64 before a sellout crowd of 20,706 at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats (17-6 overall, 7-4 BIG EAST) had held a 31-27 lead at intermission.
 
Sophomore Saddiq Bey paced Villanova with 22 points. Senior Myles Powell led the Hall with 19 points while Sandro Mamukelashvili added 17 points, including a couple of huge plays when the Pirates were nursing a 1-point lead in crunch time.
 
"Seton Hall just played better than us," noted Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "We didn't play poorly. They're just playing better as a team than we are right now. They're a mature team with a lot of answers. They've got great experience, great leadership. That's one of the best teams in the country.
 
"We have to play better to beat one of the best teams in the country. We didn't today. We'll be OK. We'll get better."
 
The Pirates owned a 43-32 advantage on the glass and limited Villanova to 22-of-61 shooting on the day (.361). The Wildcats were solid defensively, but the Pirates' veterans made key plays at critical moments.
 
"They're just really physical," stated Wright of the Hall. "They have great length and use that in a really intelligent way."
 
With the Wildcats pressuring on the perimeter, Hall guards Powell and Quincy McKnight scored on drives to the goal. A McKnight free throw made it 5-0 in favor of the Pirates 90 seconds into the contest. Junior Jermaine Samuels got the 'Cats on the board with a bucket but a rebound score and free throw attempt by Jared Rhoden gave the Hall an 7-2 advantage four minutes in. Further complicating matters early for Nova, the foul on Rhoden was the second whistled on Justin Moore.
 
Samuels gave the Wildcats much-needed early offense, sinking all three of his attempts from the field in the early minutes. But the Pirates were sharp and balanced offensively, allowing them to take a 15-7 lead through 7:23 of the half. Five straight points from Powell were sandwiched around a 3-pointer from Cole Swider to make it a 20-10 lead for the Hall midway through the half.
 
Another triple from Samuels brought Nova to within 20-13 but Villanova continued to battle to create scoring opportunities. Despite forcing four Hall turnovers, the Wildcats still trailed 22-13 at the under eight-minute break in the second half. At that juncture, Nova was just 5-of-19 from the field (.263).
 
An 8-0 run highlighted by a slam by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl – and Gillespie's drawing foul No. 2 on Hall center Romaro Gill - pulled Nova to within 22-21 before a McKnight drive and free throw extended the Pirates advantage to 25-21.
 
However, Villanova held the Pirates without a field goal over the final three plus minutes of the period, forced two more turnovers, and got an offensive boost from Bey to grab a 31-27 lead at halftime. The Wildcats held the lead despite connecting on just .379 of their attempts from the field in the first half.
 
Powell drained a deep 3-pointer and then found Rhoden for a corner 3-pointer as part of a 6-0 push to open the second half that gave the Hall the lead back at 33-31. In all it was an 11-5 burst that helped Seton Hall grab a 38-36 lead after six minutes of the period.
 
The game was tight and seemed to reach a pivotal moment when Powell was whistled for his fourth foul with 9:30 to play. Bey's offense fueled the 'Cats but Mamukelashvili made a series of big plays, including a 3-pointer that helped Seton Hall take a 57-51 lead with four and a half minutes on the clock. Powell returned to the floor at that point.
 
"Sandro made a couple of dagger 3's and he hurt us on the offensive glass too," Wright said.
 
Gillespie sank two free throws to narrow the deficit to 57-53 before Powell dropped in a long two pointer to make it 59-53 at the 3:24 mark of the period. A Bey 3-pointer closed the gap to 61-58 but Nova could get no closer as the Hall prevailed.
 
Wright was asked about a three-game slide that has included losses to Creighton, Butler and now Seton Hall.
 
"We're going to try to win the next game," he stated. "Once you go back to work, you don't think about it as a three-game slide. You do now. Once we go back to practice, we just think about getting better the next day. It's the same way if we have a three-game winning streak. You just concentrate on your next game."
 
On Wednesday night, Villanova will return to its campus home, Finneran Pavilion, for its first game there since Jan. 21. It will host Marquette in a contest set for 8:30 p.m. (FS1 and 610 Sports Radio). At halftime, Villanova will retire the No. 15 jersey of Ryan Arcidiacono (2012-16).  For those interested in attending the Men's Basketball game vs Marquette please visit Vivid Seats, our Official Resale marketplace. Tickets are available here.
 
The 2019-20 season – Villanova's 100^th college basketball campaign – is presented by Hartford Funds and Coca-Cola.