By JP Pelzman
NEWARK – Before leaving the court after a post-game interview Wednesday night, Myles Powell posed for some photos with young Seton Hall fans.
This came after yet another Powell performance that suddenly makes The Hall’s post-season future a little less blurry.
The Pirates focused themselves on sweeping their brief two-game homestand against Creighton and Georgetown, and completed the back end of that quest with a 90-75 victory at the Prudential Center.
Powell didn’t have his most efficient game in terms of shooting, going 8-for-20 from the floor and 4-12 from three-point range en route to a 30-point night. But he was fearless on both offense and defense, driving to the basket often, which helped him go 10-for-10 from the foul line. He even got an unexpected defensive stop in the first half, drawing a charge on Georgetown’s Jessie Govan in the paint when a switch left the 6-2 guard one-on-one against the 6-10 Govan (20 points).
“I thought (Powell) came out aggressive shooting the basketball, being aggressive, and I thought that set the tone,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “I thought everybody picked up off his body language, because that's what he's been doing in practice. He's back to being that guy in practice, and when he comes out and he's that aggressive, it just gives everyone else that much more confidence."
“I told you (reporters) last week,” Powell said of the brief matchup with Govan, “I’m willing to sacrifice my body and do whatever it takes to win. … He’s a big guy. When it happened, I was just trying to figure out what I could do and it worked out.”
“We knew that our season was on the line,” Powell said, referring to the two-game homestand. “We knew what we had to do. We knew we had to come in and protect home court.”
Also instrumental in accomplishing that was The Hall’s tenured veteran player, postgrad forward Mike Nzei. He just missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds and gave the Pirates the offensive presence they needed in the paint to open things up for the perimeter shooters. Interestingly, his 7-for-15 field-goal shooting actually lowered his season percentage to 64.8.
Nzei had three baskets in the first 3:44, two on passes from Sandro Mamukelashvili and a three-point play off a feed from Quincy McKnight.
“My teammates got me going,” Nzei said. “From there I just felt the energy.
“We’re home and we have to protect home court,” he added. “This is going to bring back our confidence. It’s a big step for us.”
“He’s leading the way,” Powell said of Nzei, the only Pirate on the roster who played on the three previous Seton Hall teams, all of which reached the NCAA tournament. “He knows what it takes to win and he knows our season is on the line right now.”
Georgetown (15-10, 5-7) is last in the Big East in scoring defense (77.9) because it plays an up-tempo style. Yet the Hoyas are a respectable fifth in the conference in field-goal defense and sixth in defending three-pointers, but the Pirates (15-9, 6-6) shredded them for 55.2 percent shooting in the second half to make sure a 13-point halftime advantage never fell below 11.
In fact, frustrated Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing benched four of his starters 3:06 into the second half after the Hoyas seemed to be in suspended animation while watching Powell retrieve the long rebounds off his own missed three, leading to two free throws for Myles Cale and a 59-38 lead.
“We didn’t execute our offense well and we didn’t show up,” Ewing said. “To me, this is our worst loss in my two years here. My guys did not come ready to play. … I thought my second unit came in and gave the energy and effort I thought my starters should have had.”
Part of that energy was sapped in the first half by the Seton Hall defense, sparked, as usual, by Quincy McKnight. He frustrated James Akinjo early in the game and Georgetown’s freshman guard tandem of Akinjo and Mac McClung never got untracked.
“We never back down from anybody,” said McKnight, who had nine points and nine assists.
Willard said, “I thought the way Q came out defensively, like Myles came out offensively, really set the tone for us.”
And perhaps continued to set a course for another special Selection Sunday.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
COMMENTS?
NEWARK – Before leaving the court after a post-game interview Wednesday night, Myles Powell posed for some photos with young Seton Hall fans.
This came after yet another Powell performance that suddenly makes The Hall’s post-season future a little less blurry.
The Pirates focused themselves on sweeping their brief two-game homestand against Creighton and Georgetown, and completed the back end of that quest with a 90-75 victory at the Prudential Center.
Powell didn’t have his most efficient game in terms of shooting, going 8-for-20 from the floor and 4-12 from three-point range en route to a 30-point night. But he was fearless on both offense and defense, driving to the basket often, which helped him go 10-for-10 from the foul line. He even got an unexpected defensive stop in the first half, drawing a charge on Georgetown’s Jessie Govan in the paint when a switch left the 6-2 guard one-on-one against the 6-10 Govan (20 points).
“I thought (Powell) came out aggressive shooting the basketball, being aggressive, and I thought that set the tone,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “I thought everybody picked up off his body language, because that's what he's been doing in practice. He's back to being that guy in practice, and when he comes out and he's that aggressive, it just gives everyone else that much more confidence."
“I told you (reporters) last week,” Powell said of the brief matchup with Govan, “I’m willing to sacrifice my body and do whatever it takes to win. … He’s a big guy. When it happened, I was just trying to figure out what I could do and it worked out.”
“We knew that our season was on the line,” Powell said, referring to the two-game homestand. “We knew what we had to do. We knew we had to come in and protect home court.”
Also instrumental in accomplishing that was The Hall’s tenured veteran player, postgrad forward Mike Nzei. He just missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds and gave the Pirates the offensive presence they needed in the paint to open things up for the perimeter shooters. Interestingly, his 7-for-15 field-goal shooting actually lowered his season percentage to 64.8.
Nzei had three baskets in the first 3:44, two on passes from Sandro Mamukelashvili and a three-point play off a feed from Quincy McKnight.
“My teammates got me going,” Nzei said. “From there I just felt the energy.
“We’re home and we have to protect home court,” he added. “This is going to bring back our confidence. It’s a big step for us.”
“He’s leading the way,” Powell said of Nzei, the only Pirate on the roster who played on the three previous Seton Hall teams, all of which reached the NCAA tournament. “He knows what it takes to win and he knows our season is on the line right now.”
Georgetown (15-10, 5-7) is last in the Big East in scoring defense (77.9) because it plays an up-tempo style. Yet the Hoyas are a respectable fifth in the conference in field-goal defense and sixth in defending three-pointers, but the Pirates (15-9, 6-6) shredded them for 55.2 percent shooting in the second half to make sure a 13-point halftime advantage never fell below 11.
In fact, frustrated Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing benched four of his starters 3:06 into the second half after the Hoyas seemed to be in suspended animation while watching Powell retrieve the long rebounds off his own missed three, leading to two free throws for Myles Cale and a 59-38 lead.
“We didn’t execute our offense well and we didn’t show up,” Ewing said. “To me, this is our worst loss in my two years here. My guys did not come ready to play. … I thought my second unit came in and gave the energy and effort I thought my starters should have had.”
Part of that energy was sapped in the first half by the Seton Hall defense, sparked, as usual, by Quincy McKnight. He frustrated James Akinjo early in the game and Georgetown’s freshman guard tandem of Akinjo and Mac McClung never got untracked.
“We never back down from anybody,” said McKnight, who had nine points and nine assists.
Willard said, “I thought the way Q came out defensively, like Myles came out offensively, really set the tone for us.”
And perhaps continued to set a course for another special Selection Sunday.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
COMMENTS?
