Newark, N.J. — Villanova opened Big East play with a composed road win Tuesday night, leaning on defense and a decisive second-half surge to pull away from Seton Hall, 64–56, at a sold-out Prudential Center.
Acaden Lewis led the way for the Wildcats with 16 points, while also contributing five rebounds and three steals. Bryce Lindsay chipped in 15 points, knocking down three 3-pointers, and Matthew Hodge finished with 12 points on a pair of makes from beyond the arc as Villanova improved to 10–2 overall and 1–0 in conference play.
Seton Hall (11–2, 1–1) saw its five-game winning streak snapped despite a strong home atmosphere. Elijah Fisher paced the Pirates with 13 points, Josh Rivera chipped in 10, and A.J. Staton-McCray added nine.
The game was tightly contested early, but Villanova seized control midway through the first half and never relinquished it. The Wildcats grabbed the lead for good with 6:53 remaining before intermission and carried a 31–27 advantage into the break, with Lindsay accounting for eight of those points.
Villanova’s defense took over after the break. A 16–0 run early in the second half stretched the margin to 47–29 with just over 14 minutes remaining. The surge featured a transition basket from Lewis and a key 3-pointer from Tyler Perkins, as the Wildcats smothered Seton Hall’s offense and forced difficult shots.
“They make it so hard to execute,” Villanova head coach Kevin Willard said of Seton Hall’s defense. “If they keep playing defense like that, they can be a second-round NCAA Tournament team.”
The Wildcats pushed their lead as high as 20 points at 55–35 before the Pirates responded with a brief 6–0 run. Hodge quickly halted that momentum with a putback following a Lewis miss, restoring a comfortable 57–41 cushion with 8:15 to play.
Seton Hall applied full-court pressure down the stretch, creating some late issues for Villanova and trimming the deficit, but the outcome was never truly in doubt. The Pirates struggled to capitalize on open looks and were unable to consistently defend the 3-point line in the second half.
“Our defense was good tonight,” Willard said. “I didn’t think it was that good in the first half—we looked a little tired. In the second half, we were much more aggressive with our hands, much more active, and made them take a lot of tough twos.”
Villanova withstood the late push to secure the conference-opening road victory, while Seton Hall left knowing missed opportunities and second-half defense proved costly despite the energy of the home crowd.
