PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
By JP Pelzman
The fact that Bryce Aiken was 0-for-7 from beyond the arc didn’t enter his mind when he set up for a stepback three with Seton Hall clinging to a one-point lead.
That’s because not much does enter his mind at times like those, according to Aiken.
“Honestly, I don’t even think that much during the end of the game,” Aiken said of his clutch three-pointer with 35 seconds left, which helped No. 23 Seton Hall score a 64-60 signature win over No. 7 Texas before a very vocal crowd of 10,481 at the Prudential Center on Thursday night.
“Those are the 'funnest' moments for me,” the grad student added. "All I know is, at that moment, we’ve just got to do whatever we have to do to win. The shot presented itself and I took it. I don’t really think. It's just instinctive. We're kind of just playing ball at that point.”
Aiken's clutch trey put the Pirates (8-1) up 62-58. Texas (6-2), which had been held scoreless for 7:40 until Timmy Allen scored on a pass from Courtney Ramey with 54 seconds left to cut its deficit to 59-58, suddenly had another burst of crisp execution when Allen scored again in the paint, this time on a pass from Minnesota transfer Marcus Carr.
That basket trimmed The Hall’s lead to 62-60 with 23.9 seconds to go.
Seton Hall successfully inbounded and eventually Myles Cale got the ball to Aiken. Aiken had missed the front end of a one-and-one prior to Allen’s first basket in the final minute, but he didn’t miss this time, making both ends of this one to seal the Pirates’ second victory over a Top 10 team in this young season. Michigan was No. 4 when The Hall won in Ann Arbor last month.
“Bryce is the most confident kid I've ever met,” said Jared Rhoden, whose 18 points led four Pirates in double figures. “No matter what situation he’s in, I know he’s going to take care of it and I know he’s going to make the best decision. And when he does it with confidence like that, man, it’s just--that’s Bryce.”
As for the win itself, he said, “We were ranked fifth preseason (in the) Big East and I think it shows just how good of a team we actually are and how deep we actually are. Ike (Obiagu) got hurt in the first five to 10 minutes of the game and we had a supporting cast that came in and filled what we needed.”
Yeah, about that. Obiagu turned his ankle with a running block of a shot by Tre Mitchell (19 points) and played only five minutes, never returning. Without his main rim protector, coach Kevin Willard was forced to mix and match inside.
Alexis Yetna had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Tyrese Samuel had seven points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
“We knew when Ike went down, it would be an effort by committee,” Yetna said. “All of us pitched in--me, Tray (Jackson) and Tyrese. We knew they were going to go to their big guys because they have great big guys.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” he added, “and we had to hold our own down there.”
Rhoden said, “Alexis and Tyrese both came in and had double-digit rebounding nights, which was amazing for us, and I think that was big-time.”
Texas’ most effective big, Tre Mitchell, scored 19 points, but only six after halftime.
Willard, now in his 11th season at Seton Hall, is 212-150 with the Pirates, tying the legendary P.J. Carlesimo for second-most wins in program history.
“P.J.’s the gold standard of this program,” Willard said. “He’s the one that put this program on the map. … He gave us the blueprint, the road map, he put us on the map. He is an unbelievable ambassador. He still is to this day. Everywhere he goes, he and Coach (Bill) Raftery probably sell Seton Hall better than anybody, so it’s an honor, but it’s something I’ve always said, there should be a statue of Coach P.J. somewhere on campus.”
As for Aiken, who battled numerous injuries last season, Willard said, “He’s great off the bounce, so I’d rather see him shoot off the bounce in that situation, and he’s worked hard to get back. He has worked extremely hard to get his body to the point of where he is, and I think everyone in the room--everybody in the locker room--has confidence in that shot. I know I do.”
Aiken said, “It's amazing to have a coach like that who believes in you. Anyone who plays sports can attest to that. Not just Coach (Willard), but all my teammates and everyone on the staff does as well.
“They trust me to take those shots,” he added. “And when you have that confidence from your teammates, it instills more confidence in yourself.”
And the Pirates as a whole? “We're a great team,” Aiken said. “We've been saying that all year. We're a really talented team. And each and every game, we just aspire to try to get better and be the best team that we can be every time we step out there on the floor.”
A scary thought for future opponents.
