Tyler Perkins, Villanova keep Seton Hall at bay for season sweep

Tyler Perkins tallied 18 points, Malachi Palmer had a career night with 15 points and six rebounds and host Villanova never trailed in a 72-60 victory over Seton Hall on Wednesday.

Duke Brennan chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Wildcats (17-5, 8-3 Big East) picked up their third win in four games and a season sweep of their conference rivals. Villanova head coach Kevin Willard went 2-0 against Seton Hall, one of his former stops, in his first season back in the Big East.

Villanova's Acaden Lewis went for 11 points and a game-high six assists. The Wildcats outrebounded the Pirates 37-27 and overcame 15 turnovers thanks to Seton Hall's inability to capitalize.

Adam "Budd" Clark led Seton Hall (16-7, 6-6) with 18 points and AJ Staton-McCray added eight points and eight boards, but the Pirates shot a miserable 2 for 17 from 3-point range. Seton Hall has dropped five of seven.

Perkins' four straight points gave the Wildcats a 19-11 cushion at the midway point of the first half, but they went without another field goal for the next 3:37. Seton Hall cobbled the next six points to draw within a bucket before Bryce Lindsay's triple ended the drought.

Seton Hall was within six before Villanova surged into the locker room on an 11-2 run. Palmer knocked down a pair of treys during the stretch and Perkins added five points, including a lightning-quick fastbreak layup off a Pirates miss.

That put Villanova ahead 40-25 at the half, and it was 47-27 in short order before Seton Hall made its run. Tajuan Simpkins had five points in a 9-0 run, capped with a fastbreak layup when Staton-McCray and Clark forced a steal.

After Brennan's one free throw ended Villanova's brief scoring rut, Palmer buried his third 3-pointer. He was left open on the next Wildcats possession and drained another with his foot on the line, making it 53-36 with 12:37 left.

The Pirates were only able to claw within 10 points late as the Villanova shooting cooled off, but Lewis and Brennan combined for five free throws in the closing minutes to put it away.