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• Seton Hall was 33-for-56 (58.9%) from the floor for the game, while Georgia was 30-for-59 (50.8%). The Hall was 10-for-20 (50.0%) from three-point range, while the Bulldogs were 8-for-15 (53.3%).
• Park-Lane finished with game-highs of 23 points and nine assists to go with three rebounds and two steals. She was 5-for-9 from three-point range.
• Georgia out-rebounded The Hall, 35-to-21, including a 13-to-4 edge on the offensive glass and a 15-to-6 advantage in second-chance points.
• Cooks had 18 points and two assists.
• Seton Hall was 10-for-14 (71.4%) from the free-throw line, while Georgia was 12-for-17 (70.6%).
• Hagans had 12 points, including a pair of made three-pointers.
• Seton Hall forced 21 turnovers, while Georgia forced 16. The Pirates had a 26-to-15 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
• Bembry finished with 10 points and three rebounds.
• Junior Amari Wright (Jacksonville, Fla.) had a strong game off the bench, particularly defensively. She had six points, five assists and a career-high six steals.
• Seton Hall is now 2-1 all-time against Georgia.
• Seton Hall improves to 4-0 this season when leading at the half .
• With five made three pointers today, Park-Lane moved past former teammate Andra Espinoza-Hunter and former Pirate Terry Green into sixth place on the career made three-pointers list. She now has 133.
• Park-Lane has played 39:00 or more minutes in five of the Pirates’ seven games so far this season.
• Seton Hall set a few season-highs in today’s victory. The Pirates had highs of 86 points, 33 made field goals, a .589 field goal percentage and a .500 three-point percentage.

UP NEXT:

Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, December 2 when it opens BIG EASWT play at Xavier. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. The contest will be streamed live by the BIG EAST Digital Network and available for FloHoops subscribers. You can also hear Chris Kiely and Jackson Shank provide the action at 89.5 FM WSOU.

Why is dre davis not starting? Hes our leading scorer. Seems like sha is overthinking this. Dre needs to start. Now for pf we have a problem. Tray has the height and ability to score but thin. KC is way too small and not a scorer. Yes hes active and tough but neither is a great pf. Whats with starting femi? What does he give us? Shaheen preaches defense but we got shredded.
What happened to his back doors he ran at st peters? Tyrese sits too long. Seems like he put in tae to spite tyrese. We get it but taes not gonna get it done. Kadary is a freakin mystery but who plays along with AL? Just so many question marks up and down this squad

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Isaiah Watts just committed….? I think?

By Colin Rajala

A night removed from Tyrese Samuels’ game winning heroics, Seton Hall failed to capitalize early and fell flat late on route to a 74-64 defeat at the hands of Oklahoma University in the semifinals of the ESPN Events Invitational.

The Pirates stumbled in the second half, allowing Oklahoma to go on a 12-4 run as part of a larger 30-15 run to ultimately put the game out of reach.

Oklahoma was led by senior guard Grant Sherfield, who finished with 25 points, shooting 53% from the field and 60% from three, to go along with three assists. Sherfield tallied 12 first half points and tacked on another 13 in the second frame and looked cool, calm collected most of the way, whether he was connecting on long threes, scoring off the dribble or driving and dishing for easy buckets.

Seton Hall had a balanced offensive night as eight of its nine rotation players recorded five or more points, with junior transfer Al-Amir Dawes pacing the team with 12 points on 4-5 shooting from three, followed by grad transfer KC Ndefo and junior transfer Dre Davis with 10 apiece. Graduate Jamir Harris, senior Tray Jackson and junior transfer Femi Odukale each tallied seven, while senior Tyrese Samuel notched a season-low six points.

Seton Hall took a 6-2 lead in the first four minutes of the first half on a pair of buckets from senior Tyrese Samuel alongside a jumper from Ndefo before Oklahoma forced a couple of turnovers to cut the lead to 8-7.

Seton Hall got a boost offensively as its first wave of reserves entered the game, led by Harris, who started off the scoring on a long two off the dribble at the top of the key, followed by Jackson on a tough fading jumper from the baseline and later a layup from Davis assisted by Harris to bring the score to 15-15. Harris gave the Hall a 18-17 lead after draining a deep three off a feed from Davis with 8:28 remaining.

The two opponents jockeyed back and forth for the ensuing minutes before Oklahoma took advantage of four Seton Hall turnovers alongside several missed shots, taking a 30-25 lead on back-to-back threes from Sherfield and Bijan Cortes with 3:13 remaining.

The Pirates would go into the locker room down one point, 34-33, after cutting into a five point Sooner lead on a pair of jump shots in the final minute from Ndefo and Odukale.

The first half proved to be full of missed opportunities for the Hall as Oklahoma’s second leading scorer Tanner Groves, 11.4 points 9 rebounds, failed to get into the rhythm of the game due to foul trouble as he picked up two fouls in the first ten minutes of the game. The Hall shot 50% from the field and outrebounded the Sooners 18-11 in the first half, but also recorded eight turnovers as the game remained up for grabs.

Seton Hall failed to take control of the game and exacerbated any chance they had to do so with the careless turnovers, many of which were errant passes as they looked to push the ball up court, leaving a lot of execution to be desired.

The Pirates picked up a surprise commitment from 2023 South Kent combo guard Isaiah Watts around halftime, giving Pirate Nation some good news that they hoped would roll into the second half.

The Hall entered the second stanza with enthusiasm and energy, taking a 44-40 on an 8-0 run that included a Ndefo layup, Dawes three and strong drive to the tin from junior Kadary Richmond.

The team’s proceeded to go back and forth trading buckets as the Hall remained up 51-49 with 12:44 remaining. From there it was the Sooner’s imposing their will as Groves hit a three and reserves Sam Godwin and Milos Uzan scored on easy layups on a 10-2 run over the course of four minutes for a 59-53 lead.

Davis connected on a pair of free throws to bring the score to 59-55 and stopped a mini 4-0 Oklahoma run with a strong backdown and score out of the timeout to keep the game at arm’s length 63-57 with 6:46 remaining.

Seton Hall struggled to keep pace as its offense sputtered and stagnated and failed to generate high percentage shots, while the defense was unable to turnover Oklahoma like they did in the first half. Subsequently, the Hall gave too much space to Sherfield two minutes later and he buried a deep three for a 66-57 lead to force a timeout from head coach Shaheen Holloway with 4:27 to go.

Odukale would make three of four free throws over the ensuing possessions to close the gap to 66-60 before a Sherfield layup followed by a Groves’ layup and three pointer on a 7-0 run put the game out of reach 73-60 with 1:55 remaining.

The Pirates will look to right the ship in Sunday’s 3rd place game against Siena, which lost to Ole Miss 74-62 Friday afternoon.

Through 6 games, Seton Hall has trailed at halftime in 3 of those games. I thought the slow starts were gone w/ Willard.

IMO, the biggest thing holding Seton Hall back is Sha. The starting lineup, the weird rotations, the offensive sets, turnovers, etc. He’s gotta improve as the season is only going to get tougher.

It's still early so I'm reserving judgement on our current status. But absolutely have to win the consolation game, and get out of Orlando 2-1. It's Sha's first year, he had to recruit on the fly, and there are so many new faces that it would be really difficult to have a cohesive team at this point. Sha obviously has history here, he did a good job at St. Peter's, so I think he will eventually get it figured out. But the transfer portal, NIL, and extra years of eligibility have thrown the recruiting landscape into chaos. Sha will have to lean on his north Jersey/NYC connections to keep kids in the area.

What I like is that the team plays hard, and pushes the tempo. They seem to have good depth. They mix their defenses. they play good help defense, and rotations are good for about two or three passes. Teams that really know how to move the ball will end up with an open three, however. Something tells me the staff is trying to turn each game into a street fight to mask whatever deficiencies the team has.

If you're a hoops purist, watching this team might take its toll though. We play a really sloppy brand of basketball with way too many turnovers, especially ill advised passes. The team has a redundant theme, with a lot of good sized athletic wings, but no true point guard or post (I see Tyrese as a stretch four type). The collective skill level and feel for the game need a lot of work. Really need to stress the fundamentals, get kids to play off two feet more, and make more high percentage plays. It's doable, but it takes time and repetition. This is where the assistants are going to really have to work hard and earn their money this year. Any update on Yetna or Jaq Harris? I haven't been following the news that closely. If they return, it would be a big boost. But you're not going to beat a Brad Underwood or Porter Moser coached team playing the way we play. And coaches like Ed Cooley, Dan Hurley, Shaka Smart, Thad Matta, Greg McDermott are just as savvy, if not more so.

Bottom line is we use our overall size and athleticism to beat the teams we are supposed to beat in non conference, defeat our share of some average or rebuilding Big East programs, and steal a few games we probably shouldn't. I think the Orlando consolation and Rutgers games could really determine what the overall season record looks like. Maybe 17-18 win vicinity, but way too early to be accurate on that, so it comes with a disclaimer. Hoping we have a great season moving forward.

Part 2

Jon Rothstein “Never speculate on speculation”

“Everybody wants to have a perfect situation where there's roster continuity. You're taking a certain amount of players every year from high school, a certain amount from the portal; perfect doesn't exist anymore. You have to deal with it,” he said.

Helping Holloway to run his program is a staff light on high major experience, but high in the head coach’s esteem and recent success, with Ryan Whalen and Rysheen Davis following from Saint Peter’s and Corey Lowery joining from Lincoln University of the D-II ranks.

"The way I look at it, Shaheen brought two assistants who are seasoned veterans that were part of a team and a staff at Saint Peter's that went to the Elite Eight, that's the only thing that matters,” Rothstein said, highlighting the rigorous preparation and coaching on display during the Peacocks’ run last season..............

They have bama and virginia the 2nd and 3rd weekend of december, they get past those two and they may not lose for a while

Played major mins in G League game tonight. Nice stat line of 15, 7, & 5 although shot terribly. Good to see him getting meaningful mins.

I’ll go with Caver coast to coast against Gtown. One of my favorite players and a really nice guy!!

Orlando, Fla. — Senior Al-Amir Dawes (Newark, N.J.) had nine of his team-high 12 points in the second half but Oklahoma's offense proved to be too much as the Seton Hall men's basketball team fell to the Sooners, 77-64, in the semifinals of the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday evening.

Graduate student KC Ndefo (Elmont, N.Y.) and junior Dre Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) both had 10 points with Ndefo collecting his 10 on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. Junior Kadary Richmond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) dished out five assists for the second consecutive night and finished with a team-high seven rebounds.

How It Happened

Seton Hall jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage before the Sooners took their first lead of the game six minutes into the first half on a three-point basket that made it 10-8, forcing the Pirates to call a timeout at the 13:57 mark. A pull-up jumper from the foul line by Richmond gave the Pirates a three-point lead, 25-22, with 5:02 to play in the half but the Sooners went on an 8-0 spurt to go ahead by five, 30-25. Seton Hall used a 6-2 run sparked by four points from Ndefo to pull within one, 34-33, going into the locker room.

Dawes was hot after the break, scoring nine points on three three-point baskets early, but Oklahoma countered each time on the offensive end of the floor. Two made free throws by Dre Davis with 11:11 to play gave Seton Hall a one-point advantage, 53-52, and the Sooners responded with a 25-11 run to close the game. Despite three consecutive made free throws by junior Femi Odukale (Brooklyn, N.Y.) that cut The Hall's deficit to six, 66-60, with 3:56 left, a 9-0 run by Oklahoma put the game out of reach.

Inside The Numbers

• Oklahoma shot 51 percent from the field (29-of-56) and 50 percent from three-point range (10-of-20) compared to Seton Hall's 44 percent from the floor (23-of-52) and 38 percent clip from three (5-of-13).
• Seton Hall had a 32-26 edge on the glass and was plus four on the offensive boards (9-5).
• The Pirates converted on 72 percent of their free throw attempts (13-of-18) compared to 64 percent for the Sooner (9-of-14).
• Seton Hall had the slight edge in bench points, 24-21, and has led in that category every game this season.
• The Sooners manufactured 17 points off of 14 Seton Hall turnovers.

News & Notes

• Seton Hall drops to 4-2 on the season and 1-3 all-time against Oklahoma.
• The Pirates are now 32-14 in in-season tournaments and showcase games since 2010-11.
• Both Dawes and graduate student Jamir Harris (North Brunswick, N.J.) have 935 career points.
• With two more blocks against the Sooners, Ndefo has 317 for his career, the most of any active player in NCAA Division I.
• Richmond now has 235 assists for his career.
• Marks just the third time in Shaheen Holloway's last 16 games as head coach that a team has scored more than 70 points.

Up Next

The Pirates will play for a top-three finish at the ESPN Events Invitational as The Hall will face Siena at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27, on ESPN2. Dave Popkin and Matt Ambrose will be on the call on the SHU Pirates Mobile App, SHUPirates.com and the Varsity Network app.

Another barnburner

Seton Hall 67
Oklahoma 64

OKLAHOMA

LOCATION Norman, OK

CONFERENCE Big 12

LAST SEASON 19-16 (.542)

CONFERENCE RECORD 7-11 (t-6th)

STARTERS RETURNING/LOST 3/2

NICKNAME Sooners

COLORS Crimson & Cream

HOMECOURT Lloyd Noble Center (11,562)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE SoonerSports.com

COACH Porter Moser (Creighton ’90)

RECORD AT SCHOOL 19-16 (1 year)

CAREER RECORD 312-258 (18 years)

ASSISTANTS
Emanuel Dildy (Eastern Illinois ’05)
Matt Brady (Siena ’87)
Ryan Humphrey (Notre Dame ’02)

WINS (LAST 5 YRS.) 18-20-19-16-19

KENPOM RATING (LAST 5 YRS.) 48-32-36-39-30 2021-22

FINISH Lost in NIT second round.

Let’s take down the Sooners!

While driving to Illinois last week, a tanker in front of me displayed this bumper sticker:

Biden/Fetterman 2024
It's a No Brainer

Thought the Americans played a sound match. Actually they had the edge until last 5 or 10 minutes. Maybe too casual late and England put a scare into them. Plenty of people watching this one.

All the pressure will be on the US against Iran on Tuesday. Got to score in that first half.

By Zack Cziryak

The Seton Hall Pirates are “bankful” for at least one thing this Thanksgiving.

Senior forward/center Tyrese Samuel calmly, emphasis on calmly, dropped a game winning three-point shot off the glass as time expired to propel the Hall to a 70-69 victory over the Memphis Tigers on the opening day of the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando. Samuel notched a double-double with 11 rebounds to go along with 14 points, the last three of which marked the biggest of his career.

An Al-Amir Dawes turnover in transition with roughly nine seconds remaining and the Pirates down two points was compounded by a questionable foul call on KC Ndefo on the ensuing loose ball. Memphis’ Elijah McCadden would proceed to miss both free throws, however, it would take a Seton Hall steal off a Tigers offensive rebound to set up the game winning shot.

Samuel helped set up his own heroic moment by coolly knocking down four free throws late in the game to keep the Pirates within striking distance and allowing for the final shot after being inbounded from the sideline with less than three seconds remaining.

Dre Davis joined Samuel in double-digit scoring with 13 while Tray Jackson added 10 points and Kadary Richmond and Femi Odukale each chipped in five assists.

Kendric Davis, the reigning American Athletic Conference player of the year with SMU last year, looked as advertised as the best player on the floor in finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Malcolm Dandridge was the only other Tiger to finish with double figures, tallying 14 point that included an 8-10 mark from the charity stripe.

The victory can ease the minds of Pirate fans for at least one night after another high-turnover game for the Hall with 17, many of which were of the sloppy variety, including a crosscourt outlet pass in the backcourt that was picked off by Kendric Davis for a layup that would regain the lead for the Tigers until the final shot of the game.

Kendric Davis’ “pick six” came at a particularly crucial time as Seton Hall had just taken its first lead of the second half on a Dawes transition three pointer to push the Pirates to 53-52 with roughly seven minutes remaining.

Despite assisting on 14 of 21 made baskets, the offense also struggled throughout the game to generate clean looks and was impeded by Richmond picking up his second foul in the first half and his third foul one minute into the second half.

The game winner itself represents a case in point as Samuel was at best the 2nd option on the inbound pass after Dawes failed to create separation to receive the ball. Credit to him though for stepping up and nailing the final shot.

Seton Hall led for a majority of the early frame before ceding a 12-5 Memphis run to end the first half that would spot a 31-30 deficit.

A Shaheen Holloway coached team, defense and hustle of course showed up to keep the Pirates in the game until the end.

The Hall snagged 12 steals compared to nine from the Tigers and limited Memphis to 45.1% shooting from the field, including 28.6% from beyond the arc. Despite being outrebounded 35-32, the Pirates turned an equal number of offensive rebounds, nine apiece, to 16 second chance points compared to seven for the Tigers.

The Pirates return to action tonight in the semifinal round with an 8 p.m. ET tip-off against the Oklahoma Sooners on ESPN2. The Sooners knocked off Nebraska in its opening round game while the other semifinal matchup pits Siena against Ole Miss after respective wins against Florida State and Stanford.

Experience is not helping. Whats next? Upgrade talent? IQ? Coaching?