Seton Hall University
No. 8 Villanova
MBB Falls to #8/#10 Villanova
1/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2014
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NEWARK, N.J. - An undermanned Seton Hall men's basketball team could not keep pace with #8/#10 Villanova on Wednesday, dropping an 83-67 decision at the Prudential Center.
Seton Hall (10-6, 1-2) was limited to just seven scholarship players as center Eugene Teague (Vineland, N.J.) was sidelined for the third-consecutive game after sustaining a concussion against Lafayette on December 27. Seniors Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) and Aaron Geramipoor (Manchester, England) each missed their fourth game of the season.
Senior Brian Oliver (Glassboro, N.J.) continued his torrid scoring streak, tallying a game-high 20 points on the strength of 6-for-11 shooting from behind the arc. A starter in the last six contests, Oliver is now averaging 17.2 points and 4.0 treys per game during that stretch.
Red-shirt sophomore guard Sterling Gibbs (Scotch Plains, N.J.) delivered a solid all-around performance, scoring 13 points and a career-high eight assists. He added six rebounds and three steals to his stat line. Gibbs logged a game-high 38 minutes, leading four Seton Hall starters who played more than 30 minutes. Patrik Auda (Brno, Czech Republic) also tallied 13 points and six rebounds, while shooting 4-of-6 from the floor and blocking two shots.
After making a late first half push to go into the intermission down only six points, the Pirates narrowed the deficit to as little as five. Gibbs 3-pointer moved the score to 44-39 in favor of Villanova with 15:48 remaining. Wildcat guard Darrun Hilliard drilled a triple on the ensuing possession and the teams traded blows over the next six minutes. Two Josh Hart free throws at the 10:29 mark pushed the Villanova lead back into double-digits at 57-47 and though the Pirates would mount runs of their own, head coach Kevin Willard's squad never managed to pull within single-digits again.
Turnovers slowed the Seton Hall comeback efforts as the Pirates totaled 16 giveaways for the contest.
Hot outside shooting was the story early on for both teams and it was Villanova who moved ahead by connecting on five of its first seven three-point attempts; putting the Pirates in a hole midway through the first half. Oliver knocked down the first field goal of the game, but Villanova responded with nine unanswered points and The Hall never led again. Hilliard's trey gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the period at 25-14 with 10:12 to go before the break.
Seton Hall battled back as Gibbs helped engineer an offensive attack that clicked behind solid ball movement. The Hall assisted on eight of its 10 field goals and Gibbs doled out five helpers in the first half as the Pirates chipped away at the Villanova advantage. Junior Stephane Manga (Orleans, France), who came off the bench to shoot 4-of-4 and score nine points in the period, sank the final two Seton Hall field goals in the opening stanza before swatting a last-second attempt by JayVaughn Pinkston to send the Pirates into the locker room within striking distance at 38-32.
Hilliard led the way for Villanova (14-1, 3-0) with 19 points and four 3-pointers. Three other Wildcats in Pinkston (17 points), Ryan Arcidiacono (14 points) and Hart (11 points) scored in double-figures as one game after taking on Creighton, the top-scoring team in the conference; the shorthanded Pirates were forced to combat the second most potent offense in the league.
Villanova entered the night averaging 81.2 points per game for the season in the 103rd meeting between the two programs. The Wildcats topped the 80-point mark for the second-straight game and the eighth time overall in 2013-14.
The Pirates will return to action Saturday when they head to Milwaukee to take on preseason BIG EAST favorite Marquette. Tip-off from the Bradley Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. and a live telecast which will be available through the FOX Sports Network can be seen locally on MSG. Seton Hall's radio team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the call for 570 AM (WMCA) with a web stream available on SHUPirates.com .
