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The game should have been in Sandro Mamukelashvili’s hands after a full-court baseball pass was delivered perfectly by Takal Molson
But the ball went through Mamukelashvili’s hands under the basket and out of bounds. With it, went Seton Hall’s chances at a huge upset following a questionable-at-best loose-ball foul call that gave third-ranked Villanova the lead with 1.9 seconds left in a memorable 76-74 Wildcats victory in Philadelphia.
After Jeremiah Robinson-Earl hit one free throw with 1.1 seconds left, Mamukelashvili’s off-balance prayer failed to draw iron, ending the disappointing defeat.
Seton Hall (9-6, 6-3 Big East) rallied from nine down in the final seven minutes and had a chance to go ahead in the final seconds. But Shavar Reynolds’ 3-pointer was long and Reynods was called for a foul on the scramble for the rebound. Cole Swider hit one of two free throws with 1.9 seconds left for Villanova (9-1, 4-0), before the wild final sequence.
Mamukelashvili was brilliant, with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Jared Rhoden added 19 points, 15 in the first half. Myles Cale and Reynolds each had 11 points.
Collin Gillespie scored 22 points for Villanova, which was playing in its first game since Dec. 23 due to repeated COVID-19 pauses.
The Wildcats pushed their lead to six after Pirates coach Kevin Willard was assessed a technical foul following several calls in a row that went against Seton Hall. The Pirates answered with five in a row to pull back within one, before Gillespie responded with four straight points and Justin Moore and Jermaine Samuels scored inside pushing the lead to nine with 7:21 left.
Seton Hall couldn’t have played a better first half from an offensive standpoint. It shot 58 percent from the field. It made its first six 3-point attempts. And the Pirates still trailed, 38-35, at halftime.
Six turnovers hurt. So did Villanova’s ability to get to the free throw line eight times, compared to just three for Seton Hall.
The Wildcats closed the half well, finishing on a 10-3 run after going an even six minutes without a made field goal. They didn’t show much rust after their 27-day layoff, hitting five of its first seven three-point attempts and committing just three turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
Rhoden and Mamukelashvili keyed the strong Seton Hall start, combining for 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting. At one point, the Pirates made 13 of their first 19 shots, performing at an exceedingly high level.
Forty minutes of such efficiency, however, was needed. Seton Hall didn’t get it.
Graduate senior Bryce Aiken returned sooner than expected from his latest ankle injury but was a non-factor, held scoreless in 10 minutes. Aiken missed the past three games and has appeared in just eight contests this year after transferring from Harvard.
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