NEWARK, N.J. _ Villanova had motivation Saturday to win the undisputed Big East Conference regular-season championship, but Seton Hall had desperation in its quest to leave no doubt it deserves an NCAA Tournament bid.
The 23rd-ranked Wildcats fell behind by 16 early in the second half, cut the deficit to one point on two occasions but could never capture the lead, and lost, 79-75, to the Pirates before a frenetic crowd at Prudential Center.
Collin Gillespie led Villanova (22-9, 13-5) with 22 points and Phil Booth added 16. Myles Powell led the Pirates (18-12, 9-9) with 20 points and Myles Cale added 19.
The Pirates led 44-28 less than two minutes into the second half, and by 11, 56-45, on Powell's 3-point basket with 11 minutes, 35 seconds to play. But the Wildcats gradually chipped away at the deficit, getting it down to 61-58 on Eric Paschall's two free throws with 7:57 remaining.
After Powell hit two foul shots for the Pirates, Gillespie answered with a 3, making it a 63-61 game. Booth later cut the gap to one, 64-63, on a layup with 4:48 remaining. Powell answered with a layup and Gillespie followed with two free throws to make it 66-65.
Michael Nzei made a layup for Seton Hall but Booth's 3-ball for the tie went off the rim at the 3-minute mark, and Villanova didn't have another possession with which it could tie or grab the lead.
Seton Hall held a 39-28 lead at the half, and bumped up its margin to 16, 44-28, in the first 90 seconds of the second half on a 3 by Cale. The Wildcats responded with 13 straight points, with two free throws by Paschall ending the run and pulling his team to within 44-41 with 14:47 to play.
The Pirates used a 10-0 run late in the first half to lead by as many as 14 and held a 39-28 advantage at the half. They knocked down seven 3-point baskets, exceeding their average of 6.8, with Powell and Cale sinking three each.
The Wildcats shot 40.9 percent from the floor with six 3s but were at a disadvantage on second-chance points, where Seton Hall outscored then, 10-0. Gillespie had a team-high 13 points but Paschall did not make his first basket until the final minute of the period and scored five points.
Booth picked up his second personal foul with 9:09 left in the half and sat out all but 21 seconds, going into intermission with three points.
The Wildcats never led in the first half, falling behind by nine, 24-15, with 9:09 remaining. Freshman Jared Rhoden, whose season high was nine points, matched that in just 3:19, and hit two free throws to create the nine-point margin.
Villanova answered with a run of eight straight points, all by Gillespie, who knocked down two 3s and a 15-footer from the left baseline, to narrow the gap to 24-23 with 6:19 to play. However, the Cats went the next 5:53 without a basket, and Seton Hall ripped off a 10-0 run, sparked by two 3-balls by Cale and one by Powell.
A follow-up basket by Sandro Mamukelashvili with just over a minute remaining ended the spurt and gave Seton Hall its largest lead at 39-25.
