Seton Hall University
[1] No. 3 Villanova
Pirates Stun No. 3 Wildcats at Buzzer, 64-63
3/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2014
Final Stats | USATSI Gallery 
| Postgame Video
NEW YORK - Sterling Gibbs hit a step-back jumper at the buzzer and Seton Hall stunned No. 3 Villanova 64-63 in a thrilling BIG EAST quarterfinal on Thursday. It was yet another one-point game for a Pirate team that already had played eight in 2013-14 - the most since 1983 - and was coming off a 51-50 victory over ninth-seeded Butler on Wednesday.
The victory was the first in program history over a team ranked among the top-three in the nation.
"We never really got rattled," coach Kevin Willard said. "These guys have a lot of heart. They have a lot of character, and they deserve to win."
Eugene Teague had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Pirates (17-16), who advanced to the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals for the first time in 13 years. They will play St. John's or Providence on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. The senior big man has now recorded double-doubles in each of The Hall's first two tournament games, pushing his season total to 10, and is averaging 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in four career games at the BIG EAST Tournament.
Josh Hart came off the bench and scored 18 to lead the top-seeded Wildcats (28-4), beaten only twice in 18 regular-season conference games while winning their first outright Big East title since 1982.
Patrik Auda scored all 13 of his points in the first half for Seton Hall, and the Pirates, accustomed to playing close games, built a 15-point lead and recovered after Villanova spurted past them with a 16-0 run in the second half.
Villanova took a 63-62 lead on Darrun Hilliard's floater in the lane with 7.8 seconds to go. Seton Hall pushed the ball past halfcourt, then called timeout with 3.7 seconds left
Jaren Sina inbounded to Gibbs, who backed off Hilliard with a hard step back and drained a 17-foot jumper from the top of the key just as the horn sounded.
"We usually don't like to call timeouts. We usually like just to go. But I wanted the ball, at that time, in Sterling's hands," Willard said.
A fired-up Gibbs jumped onto the scorer's table and looked up at the crowd as excited Pirates teammates ran all over the court in celebration.
"It ended up being a little bit of a scramble. The plan kind of got switched up a little bit," Sterling Gibbs said before Teague interrupted.
"A little bit?" said the senior center.
"Yeah, a lot of bit," Gibbs acknowledged. "In the end, it was supposed to get in my hands and I was supposed to create a shot for my teammates or create a shot for myself, and I just stepped back and hit the jumper."
Despite the quick turnaround, it was the Pirates who looked fresh early on.
The Wildcats missed 13 of their first 14 attempts from 3-point range and trailed 44-31 with 14 minutes remaining. But they made a flurry of steals during a 16-0 run and took their first lead on Hilliard's 3-pointer with 8:03 left.
With the score tied at 59, Ryan Arcidiacono's steal sent Villanova on a fast break that culminated in Hart's layup with 40 seconds left.
Undeterred, the Pirates worked the ball around before Sina nailed a 3 from the left corner for a 62-61 edge with 17.2 seconds remaining, leading to the final sequence.
"That was a great college basketball game," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "Great to be a part of it. Great atmosphere. The Garden was rocking. We had a lot of fun."
