Eric Dixon scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half and Villanova kept its faint NCAA Tournament hopes alive by charging back to beat host Seton Hall 59-54 on Wednesday in Newark, N.J.
Villanova (17-12, 10-8 Big East) ended the first half on a nine-minute field-goal drought before flipping the script in the second half, going on a 17-0 run while the lowly Pirates (7-21, 2-15) endured a scoreless rut for 9:07 of game time.
The Wildcats shot 31.8 percent from the field in the first half and 50 percent in the second; the Pirates shot 50 percent in the first and 24.1 percent in the second.
Dixon, the nation’s leading scorer, added 10 rebounds. Wooga Poplar had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Dylan Addae-Wusu racked up 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Pirates, but he was held to two points in the second half. Isaiah Coleman contributed 12 points and Prince Aligbe had 10 points and nine boards.
Seton Hall led 33-21 coming out of intermission and Aligbe’s four points quickly made the lead 16. Jordan Longino ended Villanova’s field-goal drought after more than 11 minutes of game time with a baseline jumper.
The Pirates were up 41-28 at the 15:10 mark before going ice cold. Five different players combined to miss the next 12 attempts from the floor, and Yacine Toumi clanked two foul shots.
Dixon hit an up-and-under layup to ignite a personal 12-0 run. He gave Villanova its first lead of the half on a 3-pointer with 8:14 to go.
Villanova’s run turned a 13-point deficit into a 45-41 lead before Coleman finally got Seton Hall back on the board with a layup. Dixon answered with his fourth 3-pointer of the game and a layup.
Seton Hall made it 50-49 in the final 90 seconds when Garwey Dual made two steals and layups back-to-back, but Villanova held on.
In the first half, Dixon brought the Wildcats within 19-18 before they were held without a field goal the rest of the way, missing their last eight. The Pirates slowly scored 12 straight points while stymieing the Wildcats at the other end of the floor.
