Mikal Bridges scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead fourth-ranked Villanova to a hard-fought 69-68 overtime victory over Seton Hall on Wednesday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

National Player of the Year candidate Jalen Brunson shook off a slow start and finished with 14 points as the Wildcats improved to 26-4 overall, 13-4 in the Big East. They remain one game behind Big East leader Xavier.

Villanova still hasn't lost two straight games since the 2012-13 season.

Wildcats forward Omari Spellman pulled down 14 rebounds.

Seton Hall (20-10, 9-8) got 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from Khadeen Carrington, while Myles Powell added 13 points.

The Pirates began the game short-handed without guard/forward Desi Rodriguez, who has an injured ankle.

Bridges scored five early points in overtime and the Wildcats pulled ahead 60-55.

Brunson then came back with a late jumper and a 64-59 lead with about 30 seconds remaining in the extra session.

Seton Hall refused to wilt and trailed 67-66 with 5.1 seconds remaining.

Brunson connected on a pair of free throws to put the Wildcats up 69-66.

Carrington hit two free throws with one second left, but it wasn't quite enough for the Pirates to pull off the upset.

The game was close midway through the second half as Seton Hall got within 38-37 with 8:37 remaining following a 12-2 run.

When Carrington hit a tough jumper in the lane for a 39-38 lead, it marked the Pirates' first lead since 4-2. The spurt was then 14-2 in Seton Hall's favor.

Donte DiVincenzo responded with a clutch 3-pointer on Villanova's ensuing possession to put the visitors back ahead 41-39.

Bridges knocked down a trey from the baseline after an offensive rebound, and the Villanova lead was suddenly back to 44-39 with 5:58 left.

The Pirates came back with the next four points to close within 44-43 capped by Carrington's driving layup.

Brunson followed with a difficult bank shot and Villanova led 46-43. Brunson came through again with a post-up jumper, and Villanova moved ahead 48-47 with 1:59 remaining.

Michael Nzei then hit a layup to lift Seton Hall to a 49-48 advantage. Nzei knocked down his first three shots off the bench.

The Wildcats followed with a basket, a steal and a layup by Bridges for a 52-49 lead with 41.2 seconds remaining.

With Seton Hall trailing by one, Carrington was fouled and hit 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 52.

DiVincenzo missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the game went into overtime.

--Field Level Media