Dixon Leads Wildcats With 19
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Shara Talia Taylor
The #6 seeded Villanova Wildcats held off the #11 seeded Seton Hall Pirates to win 67-55 in the first round of the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament Wednesday evening at Madison Square Garden.
Villanova defended well and made shots in the first half of the game. The Wildcats strong start was effective and they never lost their lead in the game, even as the Pirates returned from half time to play swiftly and make shots.
“They’ve been down, it seems like, almost every game, and somehow they find a way to make it a one, two-possession game all the time, and just the way they play, the way they coach, they just keep coming,” said Wildcats Head Coach Kyle Neptune about the Pirates return after halftime.
The Wildcats took advantage when the Pirates had foul trouble in the first half sending them to the free throw line to make 6 of 11 shots. Villanova was ahead 35-17 at halftime. Wooga Poplar led the Wildcats with 10 points at halftime and Isaiah Coleman led the Pirates with 9 points at the time.
Villanova was slightly slower, as the Pirates fought to make a comeback. They were ahead 37-29 with 15:38 remaining in the half when a timeout was called. The eight point difference was the closest Seton Hall came to closing the scoring gap in the second half of the game.
Eric Dixon led Villanova with 19 total points in the game. Coleman finished with a game high of 25 points for the Pirates.
“Disappointed in the way we came out,” Pirates Coach Shaheen Holloway said. “We made some adjustments at halftime.”
He said his team took some bad shots. That’s when the Wildcats extended their lead. “It was an uphill battle from there again,” Coach Holloway said.
It wasn’t the season he anticipated. He said injuries did not allow his team to get into a rhythm. Coach Holloway took Saint Peter’s Peacocks men’s basketball team to the Elite Eight in 2022.
“Obviously, making the Elite Eight was an unbelievable accomplishment,” he said. “I played here, I went here, so it’s important for me to want to be successful.”
He said the goal is to get to that level, but it’s different now. “Just two years ago, three years ago, you didn’t have the transfer pool as it is now,” he said. “You didn’t have guys that can transfer as many times as they want. So when you put that stuff in the mix it makes the job difficult.”
Villanova faces UConn in the Big East quarterfinals Thursday night.
“I think right now we’re just focused on going back and getting rest and getting fluids and making sure our bodies are as ready to go as possible,” Dixon said when asked how they plan to prepare mentally for the game.
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