Pirates Fall to Villanova After Losing Double-Digit Lead

Published: Thursday, February 27, 2025

by Nick DiBlasi

NEWARK, N.J. – It was a tale of two halves as the Seton Hall Pirates (7-21, 2-15) crumbled down the stretch against the resilient Villanova Wildcats (17-12, 10-8), falling 59-54. The longtime BIG EAST rivals met for the 130th time Wednesday night.

Seton Hall came out swinging from the opening tip, with an early 3-pointer from veteran leader Dylan Addae-Wusu. The Pirates were firing on all cylinders in the opening minutes while taking advantage of a poor shooting effort from their opponent.

Addae-Wusu looked unstoppable in the first 10 minutes of play, contributing 11 points, nine of which came from beyond the arc. His impressive performance at home continued throughout the rest of the first half, bringing his total to 16 at the break.

An always scrappy team, Seton Hall made its defensive presence known early. Prince Aligbe and Garwey Dual, along with others, maintained active hands throughout the night, forcing numerous turnovers that led to fast-break points for the Pirates. With three and four steals, respectively, Aligbe and Dual contributed to the team’s 12-point lead heading into halftime.

Although everything seemed to be clicking for the Pirates early, Villanova showed life in the second half by trading baskets with its conference rival. The script flipped once the Wildcats played through the BIG EAST’s leading scorer, Eric Dixon.

The graduate student had an uncharacteristically quiet first half, scoring just seven points on 2-for-6 shooting, but caught fire beyond the arc and in the paint in the second half. Dixon delivered another standout performance, adding to his impressive resume as the nation’s leading scorer. 

When asked post-game how it felt to guard Dixon, Pirates forward Prince Aligbe responded by saying, “he is a great player, experienced player .... it's just the small details that matter.”  

While encountering multiple scoring droughts, the Pirates' shooting percentage drastically decreased in the final 20 minutes. An impoverished 1-for-7 from beyond the arc, Seton Hall was unable to find a rhythm once Villanova began to strike back.

To make matters worse, this offensive struggle directly impacted the defensive end, as the Pirates lacked energy in guarding Dixon, Poplar and others.

Coach Holloway emphasized this in the postgame press conference while answering what happened to his team in the second half.

"They ran out of gas," he said. "We started off great, shots were falling. I knew they [Villanova] would go on a run. They are a good team with good players."

Once the Wildcats thrust themselves ahead with about seven minutes left to play, Seton Hall never recovered. A late surge in the final minutes was not enough to give the Pirates their third conference win of the season. A pair of buckets from Dual in an eight-second span cut the deficit to two in the final minute, but Seton Hall fell short.

Addae-Wusu, Aligbe and Coleman all reached double digits in the box score, but Eric Dixon and Wooga Poplar set the tone for Villanova’s strong second half, each recording a double-double in points and rebounds. Villanova also made its free throws, going 18-for-22 from the line to prevent a late comeback.

The road does not get any easier for Seton Hall as it travels to Madison Square Garden for a matchup with another BIG EAST rival, the No. 7 nationally ranked St. John’s Red Storm.

Spencer Gonzales and Brian Henderson will be on the call live from New York City, with tipoff scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Pregame coverage starts at 1:45 p.m., hosted by Joseph Morales and Michael Bellifemini on 89.5 FM.

Nick DiBlasi can be reached at nicholas.diblasi@student.shu.edu. 

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