PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
By JP Pelzman
The schedule at the Prudential Center has been wracked by the coronavirus. But at least for a few seconds early Sunday night, the Ice Capades returned.
In a Gonzo-like sense.
Late in overtime, with the score tied, Providence's David Duke got into the lane under the basket, but couldn’t keep his left pivot foot under control. It slid noticeably, with official Jamie Luckie not only standing a few feet away, but pointing right at it. Yet he didn’t call traveling.
Yes, it was reminiscent of the time former Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said that then-Rutgers guard Corey Chandler had skated “like Bambi on ice” after a crushing 2008 loss to the Scarlet Knights in the same building.
In this case, the official on the spot let Duke--and Providence--skate right to a very, err, Luckie overtime victory. As several Seton Hall players converged on the penetrating Duke, and naturally stopped momentarily when they saw the seemingly obvious walk, Duke made the most of the brutal non-call. He kicked the ball out to A.J. Reeves, who drained the game-winning three-pointer from the left corner with 3.1 seconds left to lift Providence to an 80-77 victory.
Seton Hall (5-4, 2-1) managed to get a decent three-point look, under the circumstances, from Takal Molson, but it bounced off the rim.
“Obviously, we thought it was a travel,” said Seton Hall wing Myles Cale, who finished with 16 points and shot 4-for-5 from three-point range. “But we can’t blame the refs. We've got to blame ourselves. … We were up and we let them come back.”
True, the Pirates squandered a nine-point lead, which they held early in the second half. But they deserved a final possession in the first overtime with the score tied, especially after battling back from a four-point deficit in the final minute of regulation.
Coach Kevin Willard said he was screened on the pivotal play and didn’t get a good look at it.
“I haven’t seen the play yet, and I couldn’t really see what was going on,” from his vantage point, Willard said. “There were like four guys around (Duke). That’s probably one reason why A.J. was so wide-open.”
Willard added, “We didn’t play with the same defensive intensity we had played with for the last couple of games, so you can’t let it come down to one play. I thought we had opportunities where if we defended a little bit better, we could have been in a better position" at the end of overtime.
Star Sandro Mamukelashvili had sent the game into overtime with a three-point play with eight seconds left in regulation. With the Hall trailing 72-69, Mamukelashvili drove the lane and drew the fifth foul on Jimmy Nichols, Jr. of Providence (5-2, 1-0 Big East) while making a thunderous dunk. Mamukelashvili was only 6-for-17 from the floor and 0-for-4 from three-point land, but got to the line enough to score 20 points.
He said afterward that was a designed play.
“Even though my game was not good” tonight, Mamukelashvili said, “my coach trusted me and my teammates trusted me” on that final Seton Hall possession of regulation.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, the officials, one in particular, could not be trusted in OT.
TAKEAWAYS
Mamu needs to assert himself early. Although Kevin Willard indeed called on No. 23 when the Pirates were down by three late in regulation, the 11th-year Seton Hall coach still wants to see him be more aggressive earlier in games.
“He’s got to understand he’s got a target on his back” from opponents, Willard said. “When you get 20, 25 points, you’re going to be the guy to stop. So, he’s got to come out and be a little bit more aggressive, I think, early in games. He’s working hard, but I just think he’s coming out a little bit too casual early in games."
“I should have tried to get going earlier,” Mamukelashvili admitted.
The Aiken factor. With The Hall trailing 54-53 midway through the second half, senior point guard Shavar Reynolds saved a blocked shot by Ike Obiagu from going out of bounds, only to throw it right into the hands of Providence’s Nate Watson. Watson happened to be camped under the Seton Hall basket, and he dunked it for a three-point lead.
This is not to call out Reynolds, for it was a rare mistake for one of the headiest Pirates in recent memory. But such things will happen when someone simply is playing too many minutes. Grad transfer Bryce Aiken, who again tweaked his knee in the Marquette game, played six ineffective minutes Sunday, shooting 0-for-2 from the floor. Freshman Jahari Long didn’t play at all.
By the time the Pirates get into the meat of the Big East schedule, someone is going to have to take some of the load off Reynolds’ shoulders. He is doing a yeoman job, but played almost 39 minutes Sunday. He needs a break.
More Aiken. Here's what Willard said afterward. “With Bryce, it’s more about patience and just trying to get him reps. We’ve got to get him reps and we haven’t had a ton of time to get practice at this time of year, so his brain's trying to tell him to do something that his body hasn’t done yet, or hasn’t been able to do in a while. So I’m just trying to get him some more reps in practice." “We know how good of a scorer Bryce is and how good he can facilitate," Mamukelashvili said. "I definitely think he can be a difference-maker, an X-factor.”
Jackson sees action. Joining the fray Sunday was Missouri transfer Tray Jackson, who became eligible Wednesday when the NCAA issued blanket waivers for all transfers in Division I sports. Jackson, a 6-9 power forward, had one foul in nearly three minutes of action versus the Friars.
"Tray is preparing himself for the spotlight," Myles Cale said. "We know he's going to come around. He doesn't have those (non-conference) games where he could gain his confidence easier. He put his feet right into the fire. We know that's going to come."
Once he becomes acclimated, Jackson could help up front. The Pirates certainly could use more production from their bench. Jackson averaged 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.1 minutes for Mizzou last season.
Scouting Georgetown. The Hoyas (3-4, 1-2 Big East) just completed an unusual home-and-home, beating St. John’s at McDonough Arena in D.C. in OT on Dec. 13 but then losing to the Red Storm, 94-83 at Carnesecca Arena on Sunday night. The normally cold-shooting Red Storm drained 13 of 29 treys against the Hoyas in the rematch, so that is one area the Pirates likely will look to exploit when the teams play at Prudential Center on Wednesday, COVID permitting.
Senior guard Jahvon Blair (19.6 ppg) leads the mistake-prone Hoyas, who have totaled 116 turnovers and only 97 assists. The Hall swept Georgetown last season, and Mamukelashvili had eight points in 32 minutes in the second victory. He missed the first meeting because of a fractured wrist.
