NEW YORK (AP) Isaiah Whitehead scored 26 points, including the deciding three-point play with 18 seconds left, and Seton Hall won the Big East Tournament for the first time in 23 years, beating No. 3 Villanova 69-67 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
Whitehead drove on the right side, flipped the ball in and was fouled. His free throw gave the Pirates a 68-67 lead. Villanova had two more chances sandwiched around a free throw by Angel Delgado, but the Pirates held on and beat the top-seeded defending champions.
It was Seton Hall's third tournament title, the others coming in 1991 and 1993.
The third-seeded Pirates (25-8) led for almost the entire game, leading by 14 points in the first half and 11 at halftime.
The Wildcats (30-4) finally started hitting from 3-point range in the second half. They tied the game four times before finally taking their first lead since 3 minutes into the game when Kris Jenkins' 3-pointer gave them a 67-64 lead with 50 seconds to play.
