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NEWARK, N.J. –Junior Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.)erupted for a game-high 31 points and the Seton Hall men's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with a 65-63 victory over Providence at the Prudential Center on Wednesday.
Powell, who posted his fourth game of 30 points or more and 12th game of 20 points or more this season, was 12-for-23 from the floor, which included a trio of three-pointers, and also grabbed four rebounds. Senior Michael Nzei (Makurdi, Nigeria) was the lone other Pirate to score in double-figures. He finished with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting.
Seton Hall (13-8, 4-5 BIG EAST) is now tied for third place in the BIG EAST.
Turning Point:
Only 16 seconds into the second half, Nzei scored to match The Hall's largest lead of the game 36-27, but Providence charged back with a 15-0 run, fueled by three-point plays on back-to-back possessions, to put the Friars on top, 42-36, with 15:50 to go.
Providence grew their lead to as many as seven points, but the Pirates methodically chipped away. Trailing 54-49, The Hall scored seven straight, and a three-pointer by Powell put the Pirates back in front, 56-54, with 7:55 left in the game. From there, the game was a back-and-forth affair until the Pirates' heroics with less than four minutes left.
Trailing 61-58 with 3:42 left to play, the Pirates went on a 7-0 run, capped by a steal and breakaway dunk by Powell to put them on top, 65-61. After Providence scored to pull to within two, the Pirates' stout defense took over. The Hall forced a travel thanks to strong perimeter defense with 22 seconds left. The Friars got the ball back, but Romaro Gill (St. Thomas, Jamaica) blocked a shot in the paint as time expired to preserve the two-point victory. The Friars were held without a field goal in the final 3:42 of the game.
Inside the Numbers:
- Seton Hall was 25-for-52 (48.1%) from the floor for the game, while Providence was 21-for-55 (38.2). The Hall was 3-for-14 (21.4%) from three-point range, while the Friars were 7-for-22 (31.8%). The teams were 1-for-15 from three-point range to start the game.
- The Pirates out-rebounded the Friars, 38-to-28, while the offensive rebounding margin was only slightly in The Hall's favor, 8-to-6.
- Both teams shot well from the free-throw line. Seton Hall was 14-for-17 (82.4%) from the charity stripe, while Providence was 12-for-15 (80.0%).
- The Hall dominated the paint, out-scoring Providence inside, 40-to-22. The Pirates also had the edge on fast-break points, 13-to-8.
- Powell led all scorers with 31 points on 12-for-23 shooting from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers. He also had four rebounds and a team-high four steals. It was his fourth game of 30 points or more and 12th game of 20 points or more this season.
- Nzei had 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting and made all four of his free-throws.
- Sophomore Taurean Thompson (New York, N.Y.) had eight points, and team-highs of nine rebounds and four blocks in 20 minutes off the bench.
- Junior Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) finished with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
- The victory improves Seton Hall to 13-8 overall and 4-5 in BIG EAST play, while Providence falls to 13-8 overall and 3-5 in conference games.
- Seton Hall improves to 52-53 all-time against the Friars and has now won six of the last eight games in the series. The teams have split the 2018-19 season series with each team winning at their home venue.
- The victory is Seton Hall's eighth of the season against teams currently in the KenPom top 100, which ranks third-most in the BIG EAST Conference.
- The Pirates are now 43-11 (.796) at Prudential Center since the start of the 2015-16 season.
- Seton Hall is now 75-10 (.882) in its last 85 games (dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season) when holding a lead of seven or more at any point during the contest.
- With 31 points tonight, Powell moved past former Pirate Brian Laing into 29th place on the Seton Hall career scoring list. He also moved into fifth place on the Pirates' career three-pointers made list.
Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 2 when it travels to Indianapolis, Ind. for a contest against Butler. Tip time is scheduled for 12 p.m. The contest will be televised on FS1, simulcast on the FOX Sports App, and the game is the FOX Sports All-Access which will feature head coaches Kevin Willard and LaVall Jordan mic'd up for the entire game commercial free. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on XM 382 and the Pirate Sports Network.
https://shupirates.com/news/2019/1/30/mens-basketball-powell-pirates-outlast-providence-65-63.aspx
