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"He had that look in his eye," said Villanova junior guard Reggie Redding. Redding said he noticed the look early when Reynolds knocked down a three and looked back at the Wildcats bench.

"When he's got that look you know to give him the ball and let him go," Redding said.

Reynolds, who had struggled with his shot at times this season and was shooting just 38 percent from the floor coming into the game against the Pirates, tied his career high with an ultra-efficient shooting night despite shouldering much of the scoring load with regular offensive contributors Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes failing to score a single point.

"When we get in a close game like that, he's the kind of guy that loves to have the ball in his hands," said Villanova coach Jay Wright.

Reynolds shot 10-of-17 from the floor, including going 5-of-8 from three and making 15 of his 16 free throws -- many in the crucial moments at the end of regulation and in overtime.

The performance, though, is nothing new to his teammates.

"We've seen it before," said senior forward Dante Cunningham. "He gets in his groove and just goes for it."

Reynolds first scored 40 points against the University of Connecticut back in 2007. The offensive display was a freshman record for the Wildcats.

He said tonight's outburst was less impressive to him.

"It's not as big of a deal as it was when I was a freshman," Reynolds said. "This was more of a collective effort, big guys stepping up. I'm proud of our guys tonight."

Dante Cunningham was certainly one of the big guys Reynolds spoke of. He notched 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats in their victory, while playing 45 of a possible 46 minutes.

"He's a Big East warrior," said coach Wright. "I'm so glad he's on our side."

Cunningham had already achieved a double-double at half time, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"Oh my God, he's a beast," Redding said of his teammate.

Redding also turned in a key performance for Villanova, but his affect came mostly on the defensive end.

Coach Wright tasked Redding with guarding Seton Hall's sophomore star Jeremy Hazell after Hazell went off for 19 points in the first half, including a flurry of 3-pointers.

Redding held Hazell to seven points in the entire second half and extra period.

"I just tried to get in on him more, make him drive the ball and try not to let him get easy shots," Redding said.

The increased pressure seemed to work as Hazell went for long stretches without getting a clean look at the basket.

"[Redding] really worked his butt off," said coach Wright. "He did a great job."

Despite being blanketed by Redding for the entire half, Hazell still managed to find a way to knock down an improbable bank three-pointer from straight away that tied the game with under 10 seconds left.

"I'm not saying it's a common shot, but he makes shots like that," Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said, referencing a similar shot Hazell made against IUPUI on December 20.

It seemed Hazell's shot may have provided enough momentum for the Pirates to earn their first conference victory of the season and break their 5-game losing streak against Villanova at the same time.

But when it came down to it, Reynold's poise was too much, and he proved to be the difference maker for the Wildcats.

"The thing is, Scottie Reynolds was unbelievable," Gonzalez said.