Oklahoma Tops Seton Hall In ESPN Events Invitational Semis, 77-64 - Seton Hall University Athletics
The Pirates will play for a top-three finish at the ESPN Events Invitational as The Hall will face Siena at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27, on ESPN2.
shupirates.com
77 Oklahoma 5-1,0-0 Big 12 
64 Seton Hall 4-2,0-0 Big East Score By Periods
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Orlando, Fla. — Senior Al-Amir Dawes (Newark, N.J.) had nine of his team-high 12 points in the second half but Oklahoma's offense proved to be too much as the Seton Hall men's basketball team fell to the Sooners, 77-64, in the semifinals of the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday evening.
Graduate student KC Ndefo (Elmont, N.Y.) and junior Dre Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) both had 10 points with Ndefo collecting his 10 on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. Junior Kadary Richmond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) dished out five assists for the second consecutive night and finished with a team-high seven rebounds.
How It Happened
Seton Hall jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage before the Sooners took their first lead of the game six minutes into the first half on a three-point basket that made it 10-8, forcing the Pirates to call a timeout at the 13:57 mark. A pull-up jumper from the foul line by Richmond gave the Pirates a three-point lead, 25-22, with 5:02 to play in the half but the Sooners went on an 8-0 spurt to go ahead by five, 30-25. Seton Hall used a 6-2 run sparked by four points from Ndefo to pull within one, 34-33, going into the locker room.
Dawes was hot after the break, scoring nine points on three three-point baskets early, but Oklahoma countered each time on the offensive end of the floor. Two made free throws by Dre Davis with 11:11 to play gave Seton Hall a one-point advantage, 53-52, and the Sooners responded with a 25-11 run to close the game. Despite three consecutive made free throws by junior Femi Odukale (Brooklyn, N.Y.) that cut The Hall's deficit to six, 66-60, with 3:56 left, a 9-0 run by Oklahoma put the game out of reach.
Inside The Numbers
- Oklahoma shot 51 percent from the field (29-of-56) and 50 percent from three-point range (10-of-20) compared to Seton Hall's 44 percent from the floor (23-of-52) and 38 percent clip from three (5-of-13).
- Seton Hall had a 32-26 edge on the glass and was plus four on the offensive boards (9-5).
- The Pirates converted on 72 percent of their free throw attempts (13-of-18) compared to 64 percent for the Sooner (9-of-14).
- Seton Hall had the slight edge in bench points, 24-21, and has led in that category every game this season.
- The Sooners manufactured 17 points off of 14 Seton Hall turnovers.
- Seton Hall drops to 4-2 on the season and 1-3 all-time against Oklahoma.
- The Pirates are now 32-14 in in-season tournaments and showcase games since 2010-11.
- Both Dawes and graduate student Jamir Harris (North Brunswick, N.J.) have 935 career points.
- With two more blocks against the Sooners, Ndefo has 317 for his career, the most of any active player in NCAA Division I.
- Richmond now has 235 assists for his career.
- Marks just the third time in Shaheen Holloway's last 16 games as head coach that a team has scored more than 70 points.
The Pirates will play for a top-three finish at the ESPN Events Invitational as The Hall will face Siena at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27, on ESPN2. Dave Popkin and Matt Ambrose will be on the call on the SHU Pirates Mobile App, SHUPirates.com and the Varsity Network app.
