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VILLANOVA, PA. - Junior Jeremy Hazell (Harlem, N.Y.) scored a game-high 32 points, but Seton Hall was out-rebounded 50-to-31 and was defeated by #2 Villanova, 81-71, Tuesday night.

Villanova's victory is the 36th straight at The Pavilion and eighth in a row overall against the Pirates.  

Both teams started the game shooting well from the floor.  A three-pointer by Hazell gave the Pirates their first lead of the game at 5-4, but on the ensuing possession, Villanova's Corey Fisher responded with a three of his own to give the lead back to the Wildcats, 7-5, with 17:43 to go in the half.

A jumper by sophomore Herb Pope (Aliquippa, Pa.) gave the Pirates the lead at 16-15, but then Villanova went on an 8-0 run highlighted by a breakaway dunk by Antonio Pena to give the Wildcats a 23-16 lead with 11:12 before halftime.  Another three-pointer by Hazell snapped the run, but as he did before, on the ensuing possession, Villanova's Corey Fisher answered with a three-pointer of his own to push the Nova lead back to seven, 26-19.

After the 8:00 mark of the first half, the scoring pace slowed considerably as both teams ratcheted up their defensive efforts.

With the scored favoring Villanova, 31-25, the Wildcats scored the next six points capped by a breakaway layup from Maalik Wayns to give Nova their largest lead of the half, 37-25, with just 2:15 to go before halftime.

Thanks to five more points from Hazell, including his third three-pointer of the half, Seton Hall closed to within seven at the half, 41-34.

Hazell led the Pirates with 17 first half points, while Villanova's Antonio Pena had 12.

Seton Hall scored the first seven points only 62 seconds into the second half, capped by a three-pointer from Hazell that tied the score at 41.  But Villanova's Corey Stokes responded with a put-back and three-pointer on back-to-back possessions that gave the lead back to the Wildcats, 46-41.  A pair of three-pointers by Hazell, sandwiched around a put-back by Villanova's Antonio Pena, pulled the Pirates to within one, 48-47, with 16:25 still to play.

Then, still trailing by one, senior Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) found a streaking Jordan Theodore (Englewood, N.J.) for a breakaway layup to give Seton Hall the lead, 51-50 with 15:21 remaining, their first lead since early in the first half (16-15).

A three-pointer in the corner by Nova's Corey Stokes gave the lead back to the Wildcats, 65-62, with 8:26 remaining in regulation, but the worse news for the Pirates came only 10 seconds earlier when frontcourt stalwart Herb Pope picked up his fourth personal foul.

Moments later, Jordan Theodore committed his fourth foul.

Stokes struck again from long distance, which was followed by a Seton Hall turnover and a Scottie Reynolds layup to give the Wildcats a commanding 70-62 lead with 7:16 to play.

A pair of free throws from Isaiah Armwood extended the Villanova lead to 11, at 73-62, with 6:01 to go.

The Pirates battled back and a put-back by Eugene Harvey cut the Nova lead to seven, but a three-pointer by Reynolds and an uncontested dunk by Pena boosted the Wildcats lead back to 12, 78-66, with 4:17 remaining in regulation.

With just 2:59 remaining, Villanova's Scottie Reynolds made a pair of free throws to give the Wildcats their largest lead of the night, 13 points, at 81-68.  The Pirates wouldn't get closer than the 10-point final score deficit.

Seton Hall shot well from the floor for the game making 43.3% of their shots and forced one more turnover than Villanova, 13-to-12.

Antonio Pena led Villanova with 16 points.  Scottie Reynolds scored 15 points and became the eighth Wildcat in school history to amass 2,000 career points.

Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, February 6, 2010 when travel to #22 Pittsburgh.  Game time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.