Pirates Tripped Up in BIG EAST Opener at Villanova

Tuesday, December 17

Villanova, Pa.

7:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

5-7,0-1Big East

Villanova

8-4,1-0Big East

Seton Hall

Villanova

12/17/2024 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

VILLANOVA, PA. — Despite a career-best game from Isaiah Coleman, the Seton Hall men's basketball team fell to Villanova, 79-67, in its opening game of BIG EAST play.

Isaiah Coleman led the Pirates (5-7) with a career-high 22 points (7-of-15 from the field), while Dylan Addae-Wusu added a season-high 15 points. The Wildcats (8-4) were powered by the nation's leading scorer Eric Dixon's 25 points, while the Pirates struggled from the field (23-59, 39%).

How It Happened

Despite the Pirates opening BIG EAST play in enemy territory, The Hall was unphased by the crowd and lept out to an early lead off the back of Isaiah Coleman's continued ascension in his second season. The 2023-24 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection added five early points, alongside a pair of buckets from other Pirates, helping the Pirates earn a 10-7 lead with 15:36 remaining in the half.

Despite the early deficit, the home side began to find rhythm on offense. The Wildcats' went on a 13-7 run, powered by a pair of Tyler Perkins threes, to go up 20-17 over The Hall with 9:17 remaining. Facing a deficit and a loss in momentum, the onus of the Pirates' offense fell on the shoulder of two guards. A pair of made shots by Chaunce Jenkins, alongside four more points from Coleman, helped the Pirates offense attempt to close the gap.

The Wildcats, however, held the Pirates at bay. Villanova capitalized in the half court, pushing the Pirates' deficit to 10, 36-26, with 2:25 left on the clock. As the first half buzzer approached, the Pirates found some momentum from a reliable backcourt presence. Dylan Addae-Wusu collected three more points for the Pirates, drawing the team within 8, 37-29, heading into the second half.

In the open stages of the second half, the Pirates turned the game's momentum back into their favor with strong play on both ends. To open the half, Scotty Middleton started in place of Prince Aligbe. In his stead, Middleton served as a catalyst during this early half run. He added five points as the Pirates went on a 9-4 run to cut The Hall's deficit to 5, 43-38, with 15:31 remaining in the game.

Scotty starts the second half with a bang 💣 pic.twitter.com/vbK3J1vN94
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 18, 2024

While The Hall continued to push their way back into the game, they struggled to make a dent in the deficit. It expanded to 7 points, 50-43 in favor of Villanova, before the Wildcats landed a counter punch to end the Pirates' charge. That punch came in the form of trio of Wildcats combining on a 17-9 run to inflate the Pirates' deficit to 13, 60-47, with 7:31 remaining in the half. Despite strong play from Coleman and Addae-Wusu in the remaining minutes, The Hall could not find answers on the defensive end to close the gap. As a result, the Pirates fell to Villanova 79-67 in their opening game of BIG EAST play.

News & Notes

This is the 129^th meeting ever between the two BIG EAST instutitions.
With the loss, the Pirates move to 44-85 all-time against the Wildcats.
With the loss, Holloway is 1-2 in his career in BIG EAST openers.
The Pirates had 12 offensive rebounds to Villanova's three.
The Hall had seven second-chance points to the Wildcats' zero.
Isaiah Coleman registered a career-high 22 points.
- This was his sixth double-digit point game of the season.
Dylan Addae-Wusu had a season-high 15 points
- This was his 48^th career game with double-digit points.

Up Next
The Pirates return to action at The Rock on Sunday, December 22, at 7:00 p.m. when they take on Georgetown in their first BIG EAST home game of the season. The game will be broadcast on FS1.