PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
BY JP Pelzman
Myles Cale thanked the crowd of 1,756 that was allowed to come to Prudential Center on Senior Night, which was what one might call a COVID-style sellout crowd, and then he added this heartfelt statement on the postgame Zoom media session.
“We apologize for not coming out with the win but we’re going to keep fighting,” Cale said, referencing the upcoming game at St. John’s on Saturday.
A noble gesture, but it’s fair to wonder exactly just how much Cale and the rest of the Seton Hall Pirates have left in the emotional reservoir after a third consecutive crushing defeat Saturday night. A physical Connecticut team twice rallied from seven-point first-half deficits, one of which had eventually grown to nine, and dealt the Pirates NCAA Tournament at-large hopes a lethal blow with a 69-58 victory.
Seton Hall (13-11, 10-8 Big East) will visit the Red Storm (15-10, 9-9) on Saturday and then compete in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden next week. Only a win Saturday and a strong run at MSG will save what seemed to be a lock NCAA bid just two weeks ago.
But that was before the Pirates fell victim to a terrible shooting slump. And even though they made enough baskets in garbage time Wednesday night to finish at exactly 40% from the field, they still finished with 60 points or fewer for the fourth time in their last five games.
“It was everybody’s fault,” said Sandro Mamukelashvili, who shot 7-for-20 from the floor and scored 20 points. “We started taking quick shots. I feel like everybody got a little hot-headed. Everybody just kind of got nervous that they went on a run. It was bad offense. It was our fault.”
The most frustrating part of it was that everything started so well.
The Hall’s Jared Rhoden scored the first seven points of the game, and later, a three-pointer by Cale gave the Pirates a 13-4 lead. But the poised Huskies (13-6, 10-6) steadily chipped away at the lead, helped by a poor performance by the Seton Hall bench, which totaled seven points, three rebounds, four turnovers and zero assists.
The Huskies eventually tied the score at 17, but The Hall rebounded and went up 24-17, and then 26-19. That’s when the second collapse happened, one that was a microcosm of these past few weeks. Seton Hall failed to score in the final four minutes of the half and went to intermission trailing 27-26 despite controlling much of the action in the half.
Most damaging in that sequence was when Takal Molson blew an easy layup opportunity and James Bouknight, who had missed the Pirates’ Feb. 6 win over UConn because of an injury, answered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 26-25. Later, Ike Obiagu blocked a shot by Bouknight right into the hands of Isaiah Whaley, who banked it in for the one-point halftime lead.
“We weren’t deflated or anything like that,” Cale said of being down at halftime.
Still, it didn’t help that the Huskies came out of the locker room and scored the first six points before the Pirates finally answered. That lead soon expanded to double digits, and the cold-shooting Pirates never made a serious run.
“I feel like we’ve got to stop being too low or too high,” Mamukelashvili said, saying that was one reason for the missed shots. “I think we’ve got to stay on balance and keep our heads straight. I think that’s something we’ve got to work on going forward.”
It didn’t help that the return of Bryce Aiken (knee tendinitis) didn’t give the offense the jolt Seton Hall was hoping for. He played well on defense, but seemed tentative on offense, with even coach Kevin Willard saying he seemed “timid,” even though he added that was to be expected given the rust. Aiken shot 2-for-5 and scored four points but attempted no shots in the first half and finished a woeful minus-14 in plus-minus.
"We're definitely not quitting,” Mamukelashvili said. “That’s one thing I love about this team, the fight they have and the mindset that they have. We’re still together. We still love each other. … We’re definitely locked in.”
But time is running out to turn this train around.
“They were really physical with us,” Willard said of UConn, “and their physicality really bothered us around the rim and I thought that was the difference in the game."
Still, he remained upbeat.
“We’ve got to focus and re-energize and stay a little more level-headed on the court,” he added, “and if we do that, we’ll get back to where we want to get to.”
