Pirates Fall to UConn on Senior Night, 69-58 - Seton Hall University Athletics
Seton Hall honored its four seniors in a pregame ceremony.
shupirates.com
NEWARK, N.J. – Senior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia) had a double-double with team-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds, but the Seton Hall men's basketball team fell on Senior Night to Connecticut, 69-58, at Prudential Center on Wednesday. This game was the first Seton Hall home game of the season that fans were allowed to purchase tickets and attend, and 1,756 fans were in attendance in accordance with the state of New Jersey's 10 percent capacity limit.
The Pirates led for the vast majority of the first half, but an 18-2 UConn run that ended the first half and dipped into the second proved to be the difference.
Mamukelashvili had 20 points on 7-for-20 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Junior Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) added 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
Prior to the game, Seton Hall honored its four seniors, Mamukelashvili, Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.), Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) and Bryce Aiken (Randolph, N.J.).
What Happened:
The first 20 minutes was a game of runs. The Pirates opened the game with a 10-2 run, with Rhoden out-scoring the Huskies 7-0, and Mamukelashvili capping the burst with a three-pointer. The Huskies stormed back, however, and with an 11-2 run of their own, tied the score at 17 with 9:46 to go before halftime. UConn then went cold from the field, connecting on just one of their next 10 shots while Seton Hall built their lead back up to seven points, 26-19, with 4:10 left in the first half. Finally, Connecticut closed the half with an 8-0 spurt, taking their first lead of the game with four seconds before the buzzer to take a 27-26 advantage into the break.
Connecticut opened the second half by extending its run to 18-2, forcing a pair of early Pirate timeouts and taking a 37-28 lead with 14:32 left to play. At one point, the Huskies connected on eight of nine field goal attempts, expanding their lead to as many as 13 points, 52-39, with 8:14 remaining.
The Pirates made one final charge late. Down 56-43, The Hall went on an 8-2 run, and a three-pointer by Mamukelashvili cut its deficit to seven, 58-51, with 3:00 to go. Connecticut, however, was able to hold off the Pirates on the free-throw line, connecting on 11-for-12 shots down the stretch.
Inside the Numbers:
- Seton Hall was 22-for-55 (40.0%) from the floor for the game, while Connecticut was 25-for-57 (43.9%). The Hall was 5-for-19 (26.3%) from three-point range, while the Huskies were 4-for-12 (33.3%).
- UConn out-rebounded The Hall, 40-to-28, which included a 13-to-9 edge on the offensive glass.
- Seton Hall was 9-for-14 (64.3%) from the free-throw line, while Connecticut was 15-for-16 (93.8%).
- Seton Hall forced 13 turnovers, while UConn forced 12.
- Mamukelashvili had team-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds to go with three assists and two steals.
- Rhoden tallied 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
News & Notes:
- The loss drops Seton Hall to 13-11 overall and 10-8 in the BIG EAST, while UConn improves to 13-6 overall and 10-6 in conference play.
- With 20 points tonight, Mamukelashvili moved into a tie with former Pirate Howard McNeil for 41st place on Seton Hall's career scoring list. He now has 1,057 career points.
- Mamukelashvili's double-double is his fifth of the season and the 12th of his career. He has now scored at least 20 points in 12 games this season and 15 times in his career. He's also reached double-figures in 13 straight games, 21 times this season total and 43 times in his career.
- With three blocks tonight, Ike Obiagu (Abuja, Nigeria) became the 17th player in Pirate history to record 100 blocks in a Pirate uniform.
- Rhoden has now scored in double-figures 21 times this year and 36 times in his career.
Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, March 6 when it wraps up the 2020-21 regular season in Queens against St. John's. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on FS1 and heard on AM970, simulcast on XM 384, the Pirate Sports Network and TuneIn.
