'Nova survives at Seton Hall

NEWARK, N.J. - With Villanova handling the basketball as if it had been soaked all night in soapy dishwater, the Wildcats needed someone - anyone - to come to the rescue against another pesky opponent from the lower reaches of the Big East.

Tuesday night, with senior Corey Stokes out with an injury, and Corey Fisher and Maalik Wayns combining for six baskets and 12 turnovers, an unlikely freshman by the name of James Bell provided some important baskets that enabled the 15th-ranked Wildcats to gain a 60-57 victory over Seton Hall at the Prudential Center.

Bell, who just returned to playing basketball last December after stress fractures in both legs had shut him down for six months, established a career high with 21 points, a far cry from the 1.8 he was averaging entering the game.

The Wildcats (20-6, 8-5) needed nearly every single one of Bell's points. They committed a season-high 22 turnovers, including four in a row late that reduced a 57-48 lead and enabled the Pirates (11-15, 5-8) to close to within 57-55 with 2 minutes, 14 seconds to play.

Bell's final basket of the night, a layup with the shot clock winding down, extended the 'Nova lead to 59-55. After Seton Hall's Herb Pope hit two free throws and after an exchange of empty possessions, Antonio Pena sank a free throw with 11.3 seconds to play for a three-point lead.

The Cats, with coach Jay Wright electing not to foul as he did last week when Rutgers' Jonathan Mitchell connected on a game-winning four-point play, then held their collective breaths as Jeremy Hazell misfired on a three-point attempt with two seconds to play. Dominic Cheek collected the rebound, and the visitors exhaled.

"I just got put in the right situations by my teammates," said the 6-foot-4 Bell, who converted 7 of 9 field-goal attempts, and went 4 for 6 on three-point tries. "They made plays, and I was there to make shots."

Bell played 29 minutes, mainly because Stokes, the Wildcats' second-leading scorer, sat out for the second straight game with turf toe, a sprained big toe on his left foot. Wright said Bell had been improving after his long idle period away from the basketball court.

"He did not play all summer or all fall," Wright said. "He couldn't do anything until December, and we shut him down in June. So he's been working his way back. He's been great in practice; it's just that he got tired quickly. He's had a couple of good games. I think he arrived [Tuesday night]."

Bell also received the majority of minutes guarding the 6-5 Hazell, one of the Big East's most high-volume shooters. Hazell finished with a game-high 25 points, but managed only 9-for-23 shooting, 4 for 13 from three-point range.

The Wildcats had struggled in the past month against Providence and Rutgers, two more conference teams that have little or no chance of reaching the NCAA tournament yet defeated Villanova on their home courts. It almost happened again Tuesday night.

Wright said some extended idle periods for Wayns, who played only 22 minutes because of foul trouble, left him rusty when he returned to the court against the quick Seton Hall guards. As for Fisher, the Pirates emphasized a defensive strategy of denying him the ball and forced him into mistakes.

Fisher finished with 12 points. Pena scored 10 and added a game-high 12 rebounds, leading an effort that gave 'Nova a 37-25 edge on the boards.

Certainly, it was not a masterpiece, but Wright will take it after Saturday night's disappointing home loss to Pittsburgh.

"The Pitt game was one of the ugliest games ever, and so was this game," he said. "The common denominator is us. But we gutted it out, man. Our young guys played great. I thought we did a very good job defensively on Hazell."