Pirates Fall at Home to Villanova, 64-56

Tuesday, December 23

Newark, N.J.

7:00 p.m.

Seton Hall University

11-2,1-1Big East

Villanova

10-2,1-0Big East

Villanova

Seton Hall

12/23/2025 9:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. — The Seton Hall men's basketball team fell to the Villanova Wildcats, 64-56, in front of a sold-out holiday crowd inside the Prudential Center.

The Pirates (11-2) shot a season-low 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the field with only 10 assists, also a season low. The Wildcats (10-2), on the other end, notched four players in double figures and shot 48.9 percent (22-on-45) from the field.

How It Happened
As the crowd roared inside The Rock amid Kevin Willard's return to Newark, Mike Williams opened the night for The Hall by netting a three-pointer on the opening possession. Despite landing the first points, the Wildcats took hold of the momentum in response. After Budd Clark found himself in early foul trouble, Villanova went on a 9-2 run to put the Pirates down, 9-5, as the clock ticked under the 15-minute mark.

Yet, despite facing that early hole, The Hall came roaring back. What began as the two sides traded buckets ended with Tajuan Simpkins adding four points on a 13-9 Pirates' run that tied the game at 18-18 with eight minutes left in the half.

As the final minutes of the half approached, the Wildcats began to push the Pirates hard on both ends of the floor. A flurry of foul shots and three pointers put the Pirates down as many as eight, but a high-flying effort from Simpkins and Josh Rivera inside the final minute reduced The Hall's deficit to four, 31-27, entering halftime.

Out of the break, despite collecting the opening bucket, the Pirates' offense struggled to find momentum in the early minutes of the second half. Despite Clark's return to the floor, Villanova rattled off a 7-to-0 run to expand The Hall's deficit back to nine, 38-29, forcing a timeout from the Pirates.

Even after the timeout, the Seton Hall offense was unable to find any footing. As the deficit grew to as many as 20, 55-35, with 9:30 remaining, The Hall needed to quickly defend and answer. After Rivera collected a pair of free throws, the Pirates found their chance to turn defense into offense. Utilizing an intense press on the inbounds, the Pirates converted a string of steals into baskets as they cut the deficit to 14 in the span of 30 seconds, 55-41, with just over 8:30 remaining in the half.

The Hall was continually met with resistance by the Wildcats, however, and the deficit grew back to 18, 62-44, with five minutes remaining in the game. Yet over the final minutes, the Pirates reduced the deficit little by little with the help of Clark and Elijah Fisher. Despite cutting the deficit back to single digits, the clock ran out on the comeback as the Pirates fell to Villanova, 64-56, as time expired in North Jersey.

News & Notes

This was the 132^nd matchup between these two programs.
- With the loss, the Pirates move to 44-88 all-time against the Wildcats.
The Pirates have held their opponents under 70 points in 11 of their 13 games.
With seven steals tonight, Seton Hall has seven or more steals in every game this season.
The Pirates shot a season low 33.3 percent (21-63) from the field, made a season-low three three-pointers and recorded a season-low 10 assists.
Payne recorded his 20^th career game with 10 or more rebounds.
Rivera recorded a season-high 10 points.

Up Next
The Pirates return to action on Tuesday, December 30, when they travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. The game will be broadcast on FS1 with opening tip slated for 7 p.m. EST.`