Seton Hall Edged in BIG EAST Thriller at No. 3 Villanova

Tuesday, January 19

Villanova, Pa.

9 p.m.

Seton Hall University

9-6,6-3Big East

Villanova

9-1,4-0Big East

Seton Hall

Villanova

Seton Hall Edged in BIG EAST Thriller at No. 3 Villanova

1/20/2021 12:03:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

Villanova, Pa. - The Seton Hall men's basketball team had the ball for a final shot in a tie game with No. 3 Villanova, but the Pirates could not convert and were then called for a loose ball foul, leading to the Wildcats escaping with a 76-74 win in a classic BIG EAST battle Tuesday night at Finneran Pavilion.

The Pirates had erased a nine-point deficit that they were facing with 7:21 left to put themselves in a position to win.

Senior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) scored a game-high 23 points and added nine rebounds and five assists. Junior Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) had a huge first half and finished with 19 points

Despite the defeat, Seton Hall is still 6-3 in the BIG EAST.

Turning Point

After an extremely entertaining first half that saw the two teams combine for 13 three-pointers, the Pirates were only down three, 38-35, entering the second half.

A Villanova 14-5 run punctuated by a Jermaine Samuels layup with 7:21 left put the Wildcats on top 61-52, but the Pirates refused to go down quietly. Senior Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) put up seven consecutive Hall points, his pull-up jumper at 5:36 getting the Pirates within five, 64-59.

After the under-four media timeout, Seton Hall locked down on defense and got three straight stops while Mamukelashvili made a pair of free throws, senior Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) connected on a layup and Mamukelashvili hit a smooth jumper in the paint to tie the game at 72-72 with 1:28 to go.

After Collin Gillespie made a pair of free throws for Villanova, Mamukelashvili made a brilliant pass underneath to junior Takal Molson (Buffalo, N.Y.) for an easy layup and another tie game, 74-74, with under a minute to play.

Seton Hall got a huge stop on defense to give itself the ball and the final shot. Reynolds Jr.'s three-pointer was off the mark, and a scrum ensued for the rebound. The Pirates were called for a loose ball foul with 1.9 seconds remaining. Villanova's Cole Swider made one of two free throws to give Villanova the lead.

Seton Hall had one more chance at a win, but was unable to handle a football pass on the other end, and the Wildcats made one more free throw at the end.

Inside the Numbers

Seton Hall shot 56 percent overall (29-for-52), 40 percent from three (8-for-20) and 67 percent at the free throw line (8-for-12). Villanova shot 47 percent from the floor (26-for-55), 41 percent from deep (9-for-22) and 75 percent at the line (15-for-20).
The Pirates edged out the Wildcats in rebounding, 29-27, and in paint points, 36-30.
The Pirates had 17 assists on their 29 made field goals and committed only 13 turnovers. Villanova was slightly more efficient with 15 assists on 26 made field goals and only nine turnovers.
Mamukelashvili led the game with 23 points and finished with nine rebounds and five assists. He was 8-for-14 from the field and made three three-pointers.
Rhoden finished the game with 19 points and four assists with 17 of his points coming in the first half.
Cale and Reynolds Jr. each delivered 11 points.
Gillespie led the Wildcats with 22 points.

News & Notes

Seton Hall falls to 9-6 overall and 6-3 in the BIG EAST.
Despite the loss, the Pirates have still won eight of their last 11.
After tonight, the average margin of victory in the last five matchups in this series is 3.2 points.
This was Seton Hall's first visit to Finneran Pavilion since 2017. The Pirates and Wildcats played at Wells Fargo each of the last three seasons.
Mamukelashvili moved up to 52nd all-time in Seton Hall scoring history and now stands at 903 career points.
Cale moved up to 61st all-time and now stands at 847 career points.

Up Next
Seton Hall will play its fourth road game in a row Friday night when it travels to Indianapolis to face Butler at 9 p.m. FS1 will have the national telecast and Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will handle radio duties on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on XM 380, the Pirate Sports Network and TuneIn.