Hall's Furious Second Half Rally Comes Up Short Against Xavier, 73-66 - Seton Hall University Athletics
The Seton Hall men's basketball team trailed by as many as 21 points early in the second half and the Pirates trimmed the deficit to three with 1:23 left but...
Men's Basketball vs Xavier on 02/23/25 - Box Score - Seton Hall University Athletics
The official box score of Men's Basketball vs Xavier on 02/23/25
NEWARK, N.J. -- The Seton Hall men's basketball team trailed by as many as 21 points early in the second half and the Pirates trimmed the deficit to three with 1:23 left but it wasn't enough as Xavier came away with a 73-66 win in front of 9,337 at Prudential Center Sunday afternoon.
Isaiah Coleman finished with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the floor and pulled down six rebounds. Prince Aligbe had seven of his eight points in the second half. Ultimately it was a damaging first half where the Musketeers scored 12 points off of eight Seton Hall turnovers that helped them pull away early and keep the lead for the reminder of the game.
How It Happened
In the early stages of this late-season clash, the Pirates came out firing on the offensive end. After claiming the opening tip, The Hall's Isaiah Coleman laced up a three from deep to put the Pirates up 3-0. The two sides would trade buckets early, but the Pirates eventually pulled out in front. Slowly but surely, Dylan Addae-Wusu, Godswill Erheriene and Jahseem Felton helped Seton Hall out to a 13-9 lead through almost eight minutes of play.
As the half wore on, however, the Musketeers adjusted to the Pirates on both ends of the court. Xavier went on a 17-to-2 run over the next seven minutes to put the Hall down two, 27-15, with 5:37 left in the half. Prince Aligbe broke up the visitor's run, but the Musketeers responded swiftly to extend the Pirates' deficit. The Hall entered the halftime break down 19, 40-21.
While Seton Hall struggled to make a dent in Xavier's lead to start the second half, Garwey Dual began to find his rhythm after being held scoreless in the first half. Alongside continued strong play from Coleman, Dual added six points in the opening ten minutes of the second half, but The Hall still found themselves down 17, 53-36, with ten minutes left to make a comeback.
With nothing left to lose, Coleman took over on the offensive end. Seton Hall, powered by five points from the sophomore, went on a 7-to-0 run to cut the deficit to 10, 55-45, with 8:13 left on the clock. Just as the Pirates appeared to reclaim momentum, Xavier found its footing once again. With just under three minutes remaining, The Hall's deficit remained stalled at 11 points, 65-54.
As the clock began to dwindle, the Pirates' potential hero revealed himself to be Aligbe. Aided by Coleman and Yacine Toumi, Aligbe led a 7-to-0 Pirates run to cut the deficit to a mere three points, 65-62, with 1:23 left to play. As the clock ticked under one minute remaining, however a three from Xavier's Ryan Conwell proved to be too much for the Pirates. Despite late attempts to cut the deficit, the Pirates fell to Xavier, 73-66.
News & Notes
- This is the 31st meeting between the two BIG EAST institutions.
- With the loss, the Pirates move to 16-15 all-time against the Musketeers.
- Seton Hall had 14 turnovers to Xavier's 18.
- With 24 points, Coleman recorded his 18th game with double-digit points this season.
- This was also his 8th game of 20+ points in BIG EAST play this season
- With 11 points, Aligbe recorded his 9th game with double-digit points in BIG EAST play.
- Aligbe surpassed 200 career points.
- With four rebounds, Erheriene has 4+ rebounds in three of his last four games.
The Pirates are back in action on Wednesday, February 26, at The Rock once again when they face Villanova at 8:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FS1.
