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Villanova fends off threat from Seton Hall

FOR THE THIRD TIME in its rich history, Villanova's basketball team had risen to No. 2 in the land. The previous two stays - in December 1995 and February 2006 - lasted 2 weeks.

FOR THE THIRD TIME in its rich history, Villanova's basketball team had risen to No. 2 in the land.

The previous two stays - in December 1995 and February 2006 - lasted 2 weeks.

For a while, it looked as if this one might be even shorter.

With a little less than 10 minutes remaining last night at the Pavilion, where they had won 35 in a row over the last 37 months, the Wildcats were tied with Seton Hall. Which perhaps shouldn't have come as too much of a shocker, given that the Pirates had only lost by two here in 2008, or that last season's game in North Jersey had gone into overtime.

But the 'Cats, as they've been inclined to do, went on an 11-0 run over the next 3:40. And that was pretty much it. The final was 81-71. So the 'Cats are 20-1 for the first time ever, having won 11 straight for the first time in 15 seasons.

Did we mention that baseball great Cal Ripken Jr., obviously the friend of an influential alum, watched from courtside directly across from the home bench?

On Saturday, the 'Cats will visit seventh-ranked Georgetown, which they beat by five in South Philly on Jan. 17 to break a five-game losing streak in the series. On Monday, they're at No. 6 West Virginia, where they got torched a year ago.

The 'Cats haven't lost back-to-back games in 2 years.

Welcome to the Big East, where Villanova remains the lone unbeaten (9-0, another program first).

"I think it's just that at some point in the game, there's going to be some combination [for us] that fits against that opponent," coach Jay Wright said. "It's usually at the defensive end.

"We really do [think it'll happen], if we keep grinding and keep grinding. Some way. We have that ability, with some lineups. Because we've won some games, we can't expect that we're going to blow people out in this league. [Seton Hall] beat some good teams. It wasn't that we were playing poorly.

"As a coach, you always worry about that. We weren't talking about [the next] game. We were talking about this one, a lot. You hear about trap games, and all that stuff. If you have good leaders, that doesn't happen. If we didn't come ready to play, we get beat tonight. It doesn't matter where you're ranked. We're playing a Big East game. That's the big challenge we're finding. They're not intimidated. They're coming at us."

This game was about what you'd expect from two teams that can score with just about anyone. Jeremy Hazell put up 32 for Seton Hall (12-8, 3-6), 10 above his average, but he sat out the closing 4 minutes because coach Bobby Gonzalez took exception to his shot selection and body language. Nobody else had more than nine for the Pirates.

Villanova played 10 guys. All of them had at least a point and a rebound. Four scored in double digits, led by center Antonio Pena with 16. That included 10 in the first 8 minutes. Scottie Reynolds scored 15 on 6-for-12 shooting. He had only two at halftime, in only 11 minutes because of foul issues. But when it mattered most, he was his usual self. His driving layup put the 'Cats ahead by a deuce with 11:25 to go, and made him the eighth player at Villanova to reach 2,000 for his career.

"He's an amazing player," Wright said. "He's impacted all of us. Me, the team, the program, the university. An amazing guy. But I know his focus is on us getting better every day. We have the rest of our lives to talk about [his accomplishments]. And we will."

It figures to be some reunion. And the story is hardly over.

"I think there comes a point in games, and it's going to sound corny but it's not corny to us, but we live for the moment," Reynolds said. "We just push through it, and open up games. We take pride in that. We have to just close it out, go to another level. We don't know if we can do it, but we do it anyway. That makes it special.

"The rankings are the rankings. We were picked to finish first [in the conference], so we already had that target on our back. It's something we're used to. We know [other] guys are going to bring it. There's a lot of reasons why they should come at us . . .

"Right now, [2,000] doesn't mean anything. Compared to Kobe, it's nothing."

How's that for perspective?

Villanova, which has won the last eight meetings, had 19 more boards. They did miss the front end of four one-and-ones, but managed to make six of their final seven at the line to help put it out of reach. Corey Stokes scored all 11 of his points in the second half, and drained two big back-to-back three-pointers late. The first put the 'Cats ahead for keeps, at 65-62, with 8 1/2 minutes remaining. The next one, following a missed free throw by Reynolds, extended that margin to a half-dozen some 45 seconds later. He also, despite what the numbers would suggest, did a fairly decent job guarding Hazell, who finished 12-for-23, but missed his last three shots. He didn't score after tying things at 62 on a layup at 9:41.

"I just tried not to let him catch the ball," Stokes said. "He can shoot from anywhere."

Except, apparently, the bench.

So the 'Cats head into the road trip that everyone has been anticipating for some time now. The odds suggest they're not going to win out, just because. But hey, they are 8-1 at the Verizon Center, including a win in December over Maryland. Georgetown isn't Maryland. The Big East is meant to be ruthless and relentless. Sort of like these 'Cats.

"We [did well] in every [statistical category]," Wright noted as he perused the box score. "That's our depth. We dominated nothing, but we were sound all around. I like that."

He should, regardless of what might or might not go down in the immediate future. *