Middleton's Tip-In Lifts Pirates To OT Win Over UConn, 69-68 - Seton Hall University Athletics
Scotty Middleton's steal and tap-in basket off his own missed shot with three seconds left served as the game-winning basket in the Seton Hall men's basketba...
NEWARK, N.J. -- Scotty Middleton's steal and tap-in basket off his own missed shot with three seconds left served as the game-winning basket in the Seton Hall men's basketball team's 69-68 overtime victory over UConn in front of 10,222 at Prudential Center Saturday afternoon.
Dylan Addae-Wusu scored 13 points including the game-tying three-point field goal at the end of regulation that sent the game to overtime. Isaiah Coleman led all scorers with 23 points while grabbing eight rebounds and Godswill Erheriene registered his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
How It Happened
In the Pirates first game after a week off, both teams appeared rusty on the offensive end. The game remained scoreless for almost three minutes, until UConn found a layup with 17:02 on the clock to go up 2-0. Garwey Dual quickly responded, however, nailing his own jumper to tie the game up at 2-2. The two sides would trade baskets once more before the Huskies pulled out front 11-6 thanks to a 9-to-4 run thanks to Liam McNeely and Solo Ball.
As the clock reached twelve minutes remaining, Isaiah Coleman and Dual worked the Pirates back into the game. The frontcourt pairing drew the Pirates within one, 11-10, with 11:22 remaining in the half. As the clock ticked closer to eight minutes remaining in the half, the national champions could not shake the Pirates, who kept it a one possession game. As the clock hit 8:11 remaining in the half, the Pirates went on a run to pull a large gap on the Huskies.
With the game sat at a 17-14 lead for the Huskies, Godswill Erheriene cut the deficit to one with a layup. What followed drove the Pirate crowd to a fever pitch. Over the course of the next five minutes, Seton Hall marshaled an 11-0 run to pull in front 25-17. During the run, Scotty Middleton contributed five points, while Ehreriene contributed another two as the Pirates stifled UConn in the paint. The Huskies would close the gap somewhat before half, but the Pirates entered halftime with a 25-22 lead, their first lead at the break since December 14 against Rutgers.
Out of halftime, Prince Aligbe quickly collected three points for the Pirates on an and-one layup, growing the lead back to six, 28-22, with 18:37 left. The Huskies, showing their national championship DNA, pulled the game back within two with just under 17:30 remaining, but Coleman added five more points to his tally, stalling UConn's momentum and putting The Hall up 33-26.
In what was a heavyweight bought between two BIG EAST institutions, the Huskies slowly reduced the Pirates' lead. Seven minutes after the Pirates expanded their lead to seven, The Hall found themselves down two with 8:36 remaining, 39-37, after a Solo Ball three caused the lead to change hands. UConn would grow its lead to as many as four, but two minutes later, a Coleman three drew the game back even at 43-43 with exactly 6:30 left in the game. As the game sat in the balance, the Huskies began to find their stroke from three. After Karaban and McNeely each added a three, UConn found themselves up seven, 55-48 with under two-minutes to play.
Facing a three-possession deficit with little time left, the Pirates' aggression on both ends needed to pay dividends. Dylan Addae-Wusu, who had a quiet game up to that point, was fouled shooting a three with 36 seconds remaining in the game. After converting all three, defensive chaos ensued on the inbound. Each side ending up turning over the ball, but UConn's Solo Ball ultimately ending up heading to the free-throw line to shoot two shots. Ball would only make one, growing UConn's lead back to five with 18 seconds to play. Addae-Wusu would quickly take the missed free throw and collect a layup for the Pirates, reducing the deficit to three, 58-55 with 12 seconds to play.
Both sides traded timeout ahead of this game-deciding possession, knowing it would decide the everything. Seton Hall would ultimately force a turnover and earn a chance to force overtime. After Erheriene's dunk attempt ricocheted the ball back to near midcourt, Coleman collected the ball to find Addae-Wusu behind the arc. The graduate student drained the three-pointer with five seconds remaining, forcing overtime and making it eight points in 36 seconds for the guard.
At the beginning of overtime, UConn gained the initial advantage. After going up two at the start, their lead would grow to five as the clock ticked under a minute remaining. In his best game of the season, Erheriene found his way to the line with 48 seconds left and netted a key pair of free throws to make it a three-point game, 68-65. After stifling the Huskies' offense, a Coleman steal led to the sophomore shooting a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining. He would net both, making it a one possession game with nine seconds remaining.
With under ten seconds on the clock, the Pirates' chance at victory seemed slim. Facing a UConn inbound, The Hall would need its vaunted press to turn up some magic. As the Huskies got the ball into Solo Ball, the sophomore stumbled driving between two Pirates and gave up the ball to Dual. The Pirates, now with the ball, had seconds to score. The ball quickly found its was to Middleton, who missed on the first layup attempt. However, he would collect his own miss and put it back in the basket with three seconds remaining, giving Seton Hall a 69-68 lead. With no timeouts, UConn's half-court heave fell flat, culminating The Hall's chaotic 69-68 overtime victory over UConn.
News & Notes
- This is the 73rd meeting between the two BIG EAST institutions.
- With the win, the Pirates move to 24-49 all-time against the Huskies.
- Seton Hall is 4-1 at Prudential Center against UConn since the Huskies rejoined the BIG EAST entering the 2020-21 season and the Pirates have won the last four meetings in Newark.
- Seton Hall held UConn to a season-worst 37% from the field.
- Coleman led the team with 23 points, his 9th game in BIG EAST play with 18+ points.
- He also recorded a career-high 42 minutes.
- Erheriene recorded a career-high 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Pirates are back in action on Tuesday, February 18, when the Pirates travel face Marquette at 9:00 p.m.
