Bell helps lift Villanova to squeaker over Seton Hall

NEWARK, N.J. - On Jan. 15, Villanova beat Maryland to get to 16-1.

One month later, the 15th-ranked Wildcats were a team in need of a victory.

That's what happens when you lose two in a row, four of six and five of the last eight. Granted, four of those had been by two points on the road at nationally ranked Connecticut, by three against nationally-ranked Georgetown, by one at Rutgers and by three again against Top 5 Pittsburgh.

Yet at some point, the circumstances become irrelevant.

Last night at the Prudential Center, the Wildcats avoided their first three-game losing streak since 2008 by beating Seton Hall, 60-57. That season, the Wildcats lost five straight, all by double digits, yet still made it to the Sweet 16.

Villanova is now 20-6, 8-5 in the Big East. The Pirates are 11-15, 5-9. Bottom line, the Wildcats got what they came for, albeit barely. And they mainly did so because of freshman guard James Bell, who's better known as Taj.

"He just killed us," first-year Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. "Hit hit some real tough shots. I think we did a pretty good job on everyone else for the most part, even [Corey] Fisher. But everyone on their roster is a pretty darned good player."

Bell, who didn't play much at all from June to December because of stress fractures in both legs, scored 21 points, 11 more than his previous career best. In 29 minutes off the bench, he went 7-for-9, 4-for-6 from the arc and 3-for-3 at the line. He was the difference, especially since senior guard Corey Stokes missed his second consecutive game with turf toe in his left foot.

"I just got put in the right situation by my teammates," Bell said. "They made plays, and I made shots."

Still, this almost became a repeat of last week's 77-76 Rutgers debacle. Villanova, which was up nine with 5 minutes to go, was ahead by only two late. Seton Hall's Jeremy Hazell missed a contested drive, Antonio Pena got his 12th rebound and went to the foul line with 11.3 seconds showing. He made the first free throw, but missed the next. So Hazell was able to get off a decent three-pointer from straightaway, but it hit off the side of the rim.

"It's a road win in the Big East," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "That's the nicest thing I can say about this game. The Pitt game was ugly. So was this. The common denominator was us. Thank God [Bell] got ready."

RPI-wise, it's not such a huge deal. But for the sake of sanity, it was a necessity. This would have been Villanova's third loss in as many weeks to one of the bottom five teams in the conference. And that's never a good thing, especially with Selection Sunday less than a month away.

Stokes also will miss at least Saturday's game at DePaul, which is winless in the conference. And even his status for Monday's home rematch with Syracuse is iffy at the moment.

This was Villanova's ninth straight win in the series. In the Wildcats' only trip to this building, 2 years ago, they needed 40 points from Scottie Reynolds to pull out an overtime win. That team got to the Final Four.

"[A win] always helps," Wright said. "We would've been dead without [Bell], being so shorthanded. It just took him so long [to get back]. He was totally shut down. We were thinking about redshirting him, because we didn't know if he could get ready. He didn't know anything [when he returned]. He did such a great job of working to make it back. But he really arrived tonight, big-time."

The Wildcats also got 12 points from Fisher, their top scorer, four in the second half. Bell had 13 after intermission. The Wildcats turned it over a season-high 22 times. Both Fisher and Maalik Wayns had a half-dozen apiece. Wayns picked up his fourth foul with 10:13 remaining, while Fisher got his fourth at 4:54. The Wildcats shot 20-for-41, 6-for-13 from three-point range.

Hazell led the Pirates with 25 points, but took 23 shots. The Hall had 15 fewer turnovers, attempted 17 more field goals but made one fewer basket. It also missed 22 of 26 from three. But it still had a chance, mostly because nothing ever seems to come easy for the visitors.

"For us, it was another game," Bell said. "We've had some tough ones. We just have to keep the right attitude, keep pushing hard . . .

"You've got to have faith. If you do everything for a reason, it's going to work out. I just got my opportunity. It's not that I stepped up. I got put in the right position.

"It took a little bit getting back. It wasn't easy. It got really frustrating. But I knew I was doing everything for the right reason."

The Wildcats outrebounded Seton Hall, 37-25. And Pena, despite going 1-for-6 from the floor, made eight of 11 freebies. You do what you have to do, especially until Stokes is healthy again. In the meantime, you take anything you get.

"I liked our effort," Wright noted. "As long as we're sticking to our core principles, I'm OK. We just gutted it out. We just have to keep getting better."

Because guts will get you only so far. And the finish line is fast approaching.

So what will the next month bring? *