PHILADELPHIA — Another year, a poor close to the first half may have doomed Seton Hall. Its star player picking up his fourth foul with plenty of time left would’ve led to defeat.
Not this year, not with this team — not even in its personal house of horrors.
Seton Hall kept fighting, kept getting stops, kept stifling nemesis Villanova until “Let’s go Pirates” chants could be heard bouncing off the walls of Wells Fargo Center. Until the clock hit triple zeroes and most of the sellout crowd of 20,706 was headed home disappointed, Until the 12th-ranked team from New Jersey had snapped its 17-game road losing streak to the No. 10 Wildcats, grinding out a gutsy 70-64 victory that gives them a commanding three-game lead in the Big East with seven league contests remaining.
“Our confidence is through the roof right now,” senior star Myles Powell said.
For the first time since 1994, Seton Hall (18-5, 10-1) beat Villanova on the road, setting itself up nicely for its first Big East regular season crown since 1993, winning the kind of game it has so often lost to the Wildcats (17-6, 7-4). It is now also 6-0 on the road in the league and has won nine times away from home after overwhelming Villanova in the paint (26-14) and on the glass (43-32).
“It shows the toughness of these kids and the way they’ve battled and the way they’ve grown,” coach Kevin Willard said.
There were several moments that a lesser team would’ve folded. There was the shaky finish to the first half, Villanova ripping off a 21-7 run to erase a 10-point deficit and take a four-point lead into the break. There was Powell picking up his fourth foul with 9:31 left and Seton Hall up by just four. But each time, the Pirates punched back like they have all year — like they did by knocking off No. 9 Maryland in December without its two best players, Powell and Sandro Mamukelashvili, that began this current run of 12 wins in 13 games.
“I feel like me getting that concussion was the best thing that happened to this team,” said Powell, who became Seton Hall’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, passing Jeremy Hazell (328). “Ever since then, everybody’s just been stepping up, doing whatever we need them to do, and we’re just going to keep rolling.”
Powell led Seton Hall in scoring with 19 points, but this was a complete team victory. Mamukelashvili enjoyed his finest performance since returning from a fractured right wrist, producing 17 points and eight rebounds. Quincy McKnight and former walk-on Shavar Reynolds combined to lock down Villanova star Collin Gillespie, limiting him to 12 points on 4-for-14 shooting. When Powell went out, Mamukelashvili and McKnight combined to score the next 11 Pirates points, ensuring the lead would remain with Seton Hall. Virtually everyone who played contributed.
“The experience, the basketball IQ, the answers at each position, I really think they’re one of the best teams in the country,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “That’s what makes them such a great team. It’s not just Myles Powell.”
Seton Hall made history Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. More milestones could be on the way next month.