PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Clutch plays down the stretch by Villanova's team captains, Collin Gillespie, Justin Moore, and Jermaine Samuels, helped the No. 15/15 Wildcats outlast Seton Hall 73-67 Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center. Nova scored the game's final six points in the last 1:54 to secure the win.
 
Samuels and Moore each scored 16 points to lead Villanova (19-6 overall, 12-3 BIG EAST). Kadary Richmond and Tray Jackson each had 16 points for the Hall (158 overall, 6-7 BIG EAST). Moore (left ankle) and Collin Gillespie (right ankle) both continued to play through sprains suffered in games last week.
 
"What a great Big East basketball game," said Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "I just give Seton Hall a ton of credit. They have played without Bryce Aiken and just grown and improved. I think they can beat anybody in the country. I think they are one of the top teams in the country. They came in here, executed and were great. We're not surprised.
 
"Collin and Justin aren't 100 percent. They just purely gutted it out today. It was just a great team effort. I'm proud of the guys."
 
Seton Hall built a 10-6 lead over the game's first 4:05, converting four of seven field goal attempts in the effort. The Pirates added to their advantage by sinking a trio of 3-pointers on successive possessions to move in front 21-15 at the midpoint of the first half. A Collin Gillespie 3-pointer and an interior score by Jermaine Samuels narrowed the deficit to 21-20 before Myles Cale's third 3-pointer of the first 12 minutes put the Hall in front 24-20.
 
The Wildcats, however, forced three straight turnovers that sparked a 7-0 run, capped by a Samuels 3-pointer for their first lead of the day, 27-24. But the Pirates used an 8-2 burst to reclaim the lead 32-29 with just under two minutes to go before halftime. The Wildcats went without a field goal for the final 4:56 of the period, going 0-of-8 in that span with four turnovers.
 
Seton Hall took the 32-29 lead into the locker room at halftime. Richmond (11 points) and Cale (nine points) topped the Pirates while Samuels paced Villanova with nine points.
 
One line on the stats sheet stood out: Seton Hall converted 7-of-14 of its 3-point attempts (.500) while the Wildcats were just 3-of-12 (.250).
 
"I didn't think we played horribly," stated Wright of the first half. "They played really well and I thought we played OK. We just felt like this was going to be a grind, a Big East Seton Hall-Villanova game."
 
The Pirates crafted a 41-36 lead early in the second half before a 9-0 Villanova run was capped by a driving slam by Samuels to put the Wildcats on top 45-41 with 13:36 to play in the period.
 
However, the Hall responded by compiling an 11-0 run that was highlighted by a step back 3-pointer by Jamir Harris to regain its edge, 52-45. There was 10:58 on the second half clock as the Wildcats signaled for a timeout. Two free throws by Justin Moore ended the burst and two field goals by Brandon Slater drew Nova to within 52-51. Samuels then scored on a drive to the hoop to put VU back on top, 53-52. His free throw after being fouled in the act of shooting, made it 54-52.
 
There was 7:18 to play in the second half.
 
"We're trying to get a balance offensively," Wright stated. "We have not been able to get into a rhythm offensively this year. We've had some guys out of practice and we haven't found that. We'll go through spurts where we're making 3's or spurts where we're scoring inside."
 
A Chris Arcidiacono 3-pointer gave Villanova a 62-57 lead but the Hall hit 3-pointers on consecutive possession, the last by Tray Jackson to reclaim the lead at 63-62. Villanova took another timeout with 3:15 to play. The game went back and forth, with Seton Hall drawing even at 67 on a pair of free throws by Tray Jackson with 1:54 to play.
 
Gillespie found a cutting Slater for a go-ahead basket with 1:26 left. The Wildcats then got a defensive stop and Gillespie came up with a huge offensive rebound with 34 seconds on the clock to give the 'Cats another possession. Moore sank four free throws sandwiched around a charge drawn over the final seconds to make the count 73-67.
 
 "Collin was in my office yesterday and we had a talk," Wright said. "I told him, 'you're amazing, dude. I'm going to be telling stories about you forever.' These are the stories we love to tell.
 
"Coming into this game you could see he was struggling early. I know he's not close to 100 percent. But making those plays at the end, that's what we take pride in. That's what guys before him have done and he continues that tradition."
 
The Wildcats next travel north to Providence to take on the BIG EAST leading Friars on Tuesday night. Tipoff for that one is set for just after 8 p.m. at the Dunkin Donuts Center (CBS Sports Network and the Villanova IHeart Radio Network).