Men's Basketball: Jan. 19, 2021 - Cinematic Recap vs. Seton Hall

VILLANOVA, Pa. – After 27 days between games, No. 3 Villanova returned to action Tuesday night with a thrilling 76-74 BIG EAST victory over Seton Hall (9-6 overall, 6-3 BIG EAST) at Finneran Pavilion. The game was tied at 74 with Seton Hall in possession as the clock wound under 10 seconds. The Wildcats, however, successfully defended that possession, forcing a missed 3-pointer by Shavar Reynolds Jr. Junior Cole Swider grabbed the key defensive rebound and sank one of two free throw attempts with 1.9 seconds left. A Jeremiah Robinson-Earl free throw after a Seton Hall turnover provided the final margin of victory. Villanova (9-1 overall, 4-0 BIG EAST) was carried by seniors Collin Gillespie (22 points) and Jermaine Samuels (20 points and nine rebounds). Samuels provided that lift after having been sidelined for the duration of the 'Cats most recent COVID-19 pause. The Wildcats last played on Dec. 23 at Marquette. "I didn't have any expectations – I just wanted to see what happened," stated Wildcats head coach Jay Wright. "There was some good, some bad. It's great to get a win. I'm happy for our guys. Seton Hall is a very good team. I'm happy that we survived. "I am truly amazed by Jermaine Samuels. He literally practiced one day. Had Covid and couldn't practice until (Monday). To come out and be able to play like that is truly incredible. Collin Gillespie had four days of practice and played 38 minutes. Those guys' stamina and Cole hitting a big free throw at the end was huge." The two teams showed no early rust despite the fact both the Pirates and Wildcats were returning from long layoffs (a 10-day gap between games for the Hall). Villanova was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc in the opening six plus minutes while the Pirates' Jared Rhoden connected on all three of his long attempts. It was 17-13 Nova after Collin Gillespie's second made triple of the night. The Wildcats held the lead until a Sandro Mamukelashvili 3-pointer gave the Pirates the advantage at 23-22. Four straight Wildcats points gave Nova back the lead but Rhoden drained another 3-pointer – the Pirates' sixth straight to open the game – and the contest was tied at 26 with 7:49 to play in the first half. While the Hall maintained its sizzling shooting, the Wildcats cooled. A 4:55 stretch without a field goal helped the Pirates craft a 32-28 lead with a tick less than four minutes to play in the period. Seton Hall was 13-of-19 from the field at that juncture (.684). A short jumper in the lane by Gillespie ended the drought. A 10-3 spurt over the final minutes of the period allowed the Wildcats to take a 38-35 lead into the locker room at halftime. Gillespie led Villanova with 10 points while Samuels added nine points. Rhoden's 17 points paced all scorers at intermission. The Wildcats built a 53-47 lead at the 10:35 of the second half. The Hall answered with five straight points from Mamukelashvili to draw to within 53-52 as the game approached the midpoint of the second half. An 8-0 run helped Villanova push its margin to 61-52 at the 7:14 mark. But Reynolds heated up for the Hall, scoring seven consecutive points, to pull the Pirates to within 64-59 with 5:11 to play in the second half. Gillespie and Samuels helped the Wildcats maintain the lead, but the Pirates surge continued, as they sank 6-og-8 from the field to close the deficit to 72-70 with 2:23 to play in the period. A Mamukelasvili basket with 1:28 to play tied the contest at 72. That set up the final seconds. "I thought we did a good job on Rhoden in the second half," noted Wright. "He killed us in the first half. Mamu got it going though and hurt us. We were able to survive against a very good team."