by JP Pelzman
For most of the night Friday, Seton Hall did not need its superstar.
The Pirates had opened 20 and 21 point leads in the first and second halves, respectively, without much scoring input from the preseason All-American Myles Powell.
But when that 21-point bulge suddenly melted to 11 with 8:19 left, the senior guard from Trenton quickly restored order.
Would you have expected anything less?
Powell scored on a driving layup, fed Jared Rhoden for a resounding dunk, and then drained threes off passes from Quincy McKnight on back-to-back possessions to fuel a 10-0 run that iced Seton Hall’s 78-62 victory over depleted Georgetown (10-5, 0-2 Big East) at the Prudential Center.
With four scorers in double figures, including a team-high (and career-high) 17 points from Romaro Gill, the Pirates (10-4) showed they certainly aren’t a one-man team as they secured a 2-0 start in conference for the third straight time. But Powell also demonstrated that when The Hall needs him to be The Man, he’s got this.
“I owe it all to my teammates,” Powell said, crediting McKnight (10 assists) for finding him in transition. “Without those guys, I’m not the Myles Powell I am today.”
McKnight said that earlier in the second half, “I told him, ‘Bro, just see the ball go through the basket. Don’t force a three, get a layup. Just see the ball go through the basket.’”
Powell had been 3-for-14 from the field before making those shots, his final three attempts of the night. He had eight of his 15 points in that outburst.
After Powell made the contested layup, McKnight said, “My eyes lit up. I was looking for him every time down the court. When he made those two threes, the crowd was going crazy.”
“That’s just Myles being Myles,” coach Kevin Willard said. “I was worried about him this game because of the adrenaline of coming back, that first game is always easier, the second game, now you have to kind of burn real fuel. He’s just not back to where he’s going to be in a couple of weeks, but you just knew it was only a matter of time. He got a couple of good looks that he missed, and then we were able to get out on the break.”
That scoring flurry and some later trash-talking, followed by pushing, shoving and the subsequent ejections of six bench players on the two teams, were the highlights of an otherwise pedestrian game.
Georgetown sophomore guard Mac McClung started despite barely having practiced since being poked in the eye in a win over American on Dec. 28. He sat out a blowout loss to Providence on New Year’s Eve and began the game wearing protective goggles before ditching them during the first half. Although he scored a game-high 20 points, his shooting touch clearly was off as he went 7-for-20 overall and 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. However, Hoyas coach Patrick Ewing indicated afterward he did not think lingering vision problems caused McClung’s poor shooting.
Certainly McClung’s hearing wasn’t impaired.
McKnight admitted matter-of-factly saying, “Look at the scoreboard” to McClung prior to the incident late in the game.
“It was nothing crazy,” McKnight said. “Just two competitors going at it.”
As for the game itself, once again, Seton Hall followed the path of its supreme competitor and inspirational leader. A path that was envisioned by the Big East coaches in the preseason when they voted the Pirates as the team to beat in conference play.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
For most of the night Friday, Seton Hall did not need its superstar.
The Pirates had opened 20 and 21 point leads in the first and second halves, respectively, without much scoring input from the preseason All-American Myles Powell.
But when that 21-point bulge suddenly melted to 11 with 8:19 left, the senior guard from Trenton quickly restored order.
Would you have expected anything less?
Powell scored on a driving layup, fed Jared Rhoden for a resounding dunk, and then drained threes off passes from Quincy McKnight on back-to-back possessions to fuel a 10-0 run that iced Seton Hall’s 78-62 victory over depleted Georgetown (10-5, 0-2 Big East) at the Prudential Center.
With four scorers in double figures, including a team-high (and career-high) 17 points from Romaro Gill, the Pirates (10-4) showed they certainly aren’t a one-man team as they secured a 2-0 start in conference for the third straight time. But Powell also demonstrated that when The Hall needs him to be The Man, he’s got this.
“I owe it all to my teammates,” Powell said, crediting McKnight (10 assists) for finding him in transition. “Without those guys, I’m not the Myles Powell I am today.”
McKnight said that earlier in the second half, “I told him, ‘Bro, just see the ball go through the basket. Don’t force a three, get a layup. Just see the ball go through the basket.’”
Powell had been 3-for-14 from the field before making those shots, his final three attempts of the night. He had eight of his 15 points in that outburst.
After Powell made the contested layup, McKnight said, “My eyes lit up. I was looking for him every time down the court. When he made those two threes, the crowd was going crazy.”
“That’s just Myles being Myles,” coach Kevin Willard said. “I was worried about him this game because of the adrenaline of coming back, that first game is always easier, the second game, now you have to kind of burn real fuel. He’s just not back to where he’s going to be in a couple of weeks, but you just knew it was only a matter of time. He got a couple of good looks that he missed, and then we were able to get out on the break.”
That scoring flurry and some later trash-talking, followed by pushing, shoving and the subsequent ejections of six bench players on the two teams, were the highlights of an otherwise pedestrian game.
Georgetown sophomore guard Mac McClung started despite barely having practiced since being poked in the eye in a win over American on Dec. 28. He sat out a blowout loss to Providence on New Year’s Eve and began the game wearing protective goggles before ditching them during the first half. Although he scored a game-high 20 points, his shooting touch clearly was off as he went 7-for-20 overall and 1-for-5 from beyond the arc. However, Hoyas coach Patrick Ewing indicated afterward he did not think lingering vision problems caused McClung’s poor shooting.
Certainly McClung’s hearing wasn’t impaired.
McKnight admitted matter-of-factly saying, “Look at the scoreboard” to McClung prior to the incident late in the game.
“It was nothing crazy,” McKnight said. “Just two competitors going at it.”
As for the game itself, once again, Seton Hall followed the path of its supreme competitor and inspirational leader. A path that was envisioned by the Big East coaches in the preseason when they voted the Pirates as the team to beat in conference play.
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
