Acaden Lewis had a game-high 16 points and Villanova used a 16-point run early in the second half to fuel a 64-56 road victory over Seton Hall on Tuesday night in Newark, N.J.
The Wildcats (10-2, 1-0 Big East) prevailed in head coach Kevin Willard’s first return to New Jersey to face Seton Hall, where he coached from 2010-22 with Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway on his staff for the first eight seasons.
Villanova outshot Seton Hall an overwhelming 56.5% to 32.3% in the second half and 48.9% to 33.3% overall to win its conference opener. Bryce Lindsay contributed 15 points and four assists, Matt Hodge had 12 points and six rebounds and reserve Duke Brennan added 10 points and nine boards.
Elijah Fisher supplied 13 points and Josh Rivera came off the bench for a career-high 10 points for Seton Hall (11-2, 1-1), whose only other loss came by two points to Southern California on Nov. 25.
Seton Hall took its first home loss this season despite scoring 23 points off 18 Villanova turnovers.
The Pirates trailed by four at halftime and Fisher made a layup on the opening possession of the second half to pull them within 31-29.
That’s when Villanova’s run began with a pair of free throws from Hodge. After Lewis canned a 3-pointer, the Wildcats’ next three baskets came in the paint. Brennan was left wide open for a layup to make it 11 unanswered points.
Villanova wasn’t done. Tyler Perkins knocked down a triple, and Lewis’ fastbreak dunk was an emphatic finale for the run, making it 47-29 with 14:11 to play.
The Wildcats held the Pirates scoreless for 6:07 of game time during that run.
They went on to lead by as many as 20 with 9:34 on the clock, but Seton Hall used full-court defense in the final stages and strung together 10 straight points to make the final margin respectable.
Villanova held a narrow lead for most of the first half, using early 3-pointers from Lewis, Lindsay and Malachi Palmer to find its rhythm. Matt Hodge added a pair of triples and put Villanova ahead 25-20 with 5:17 left.
The Wildcats grew the lead to eight before Seton Hall halved the margin in the final minute. Tajuan Simpkins grabbed a steal, was fouled and made both ends of a 1-and-1. Then Josh Rivera’s putback helped make it 31-27 Villanova at the break.
