By JP Pelzman
PROVIDENCE – What was the most offensive moment for Seton Hall’s offense Tuesday night?
Maybe it was Taurean Thompson’s three-point attempt from the corner--that hit the rim on the other side. Or maybe it was Quincy McKnight missing a contested layup while Myles Powell was seated on the floor near midcourt after a collision with a Providence player that wasn’t called a foul.
And of course, how about the time Sandro Mamukelashvili drove the lane--only to run into teammate Mike Nzei. The result was a turnover.
It was a comedy of errors, many unforced, but nobody was smiling as the Pirates lost their second straight game Tuesday night. A desperate Providence team, facing the specter of an 0-4 start in the Big East, outlasted Seton Hall 72-63 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The Pirates (12-6, 3-3) went 2-3 during a stretch of four road games in five contests, and coach Kevin Willard and his players will be glad to come home for awhile.
Seton Hall hosts DePaul on Saturday and won’t play again after that until it visits Villanova on Jan. 27.
“Being on the road, and playing the amount of games we’ve played in a short period of time,” Willard said, “we've gotten a little sloppy. You can't get into a rhythm unless you practice, with a young team. And we're still a young team, so we need that repetition, we need that practice.”
Seton Hall had 22 turnovers, and the Friars (11-6, 1-3) scored 23 points off those.
“I liked the way our guys battled,” Willard said, “we were just too careless with the ball. You can't turn it over 22 times on the road and expect to win. We got off to a good start and then we just got a little sloppy with the ball.”
The Pirates actually led 12-4 in the early going thanks mostly to a pair of threes by Myles Cale, and were up 33-30 at halftime. But momentum and the ball turned (over) in the second half, as the Friars took advantage of unforced errors. Makai Ashton-Langford’s driving layup with 8:48 left broke a tie and put the Friars ahead to stay, 51-49.
Unlike in most other games this season when it has trailed, The Hall couldn’t mount a late rally, largely because Powell never got untracked. He shot 4-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-6 from three-point range on his way to 12 points, his second-lowest total of the season.
“I thought (the Friars) did a good job switching out at times,” Willard said, “putting different guys (on Powell), (Alpha) Diallo, (Isaiah) Jackson, big guys.”
Powell and Diallo were called for a double technical with 37 seconds to go and the game already decided.
“When you're getting switched on,” Willard said, “you're getting grabbed, you're getting held, it gets a little frustrating.”
“When you have somebody like Powell on your team, you’re going to draw a lot of attention,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said, “and our guys were dialed in.”
“We knew it would be a tough matchup,” said 6-5 Providence freshman guard David Duke, “but whoever was on him had to dial in and stay focused and I think we did a good job with that today.”
“We kept fighting,” said Nzei, who had 10 points and eight rebounds, “(but) they were tough and they made their shots. We’ve got to be better in terms of being tough on the road to try to get these wins.”
Nzei couldn’t pinpoint any reasons for the turnovers. The Pirates were averaging only 11.6 turnovers entering the game.
“I felt like everyone out there was playing hard today,” he said.
But maybe too hard sometimes, trying to create things that weren’t there. After Willard called a timeout with his team trailing 40-38, freshman point guard Anthony Nelson tried a one-on-one drive that resulted in a turnover and a layup the other way for Providence. That was the way the second half went for the Pirates, who will try to regroup against the Blue Demons.
“I’m actually looking forward to Thursday and Friday,” Willard said, “where we can have two days at home and practice.”
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
COMMENTS
PROVIDENCE – What was the most offensive moment for Seton Hall’s offense Tuesday night?
Maybe it was Taurean Thompson’s three-point attempt from the corner--that hit the rim on the other side. Or maybe it was Quincy McKnight missing a contested layup while Myles Powell was seated on the floor near midcourt after a collision with a Providence player that wasn’t called a foul.
And of course, how about the time Sandro Mamukelashvili drove the lane--only to run into teammate Mike Nzei. The result was a turnover.
It was a comedy of errors, many unforced, but nobody was smiling as the Pirates lost their second straight game Tuesday night. A desperate Providence team, facing the specter of an 0-4 start in the Big East, outlasted Seton Hall 72-63 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. The Pirates (12-6, 3-3) went 2-3 during a stretch of four road games in five contests, and coach Kevin Willard and his players will be glad to come home for awhile.
Seton Hall hosts DePaul on Saturday and won’t play again after that until it visits Villanova on Jan. 27.
“Being on the road, and playing the amount of games we’ve played in a short period of time,” Willard said, “we've gotten a little sloppy. You can't get into a rhythm unless you practice, with a young team. And we're still a young team, so we need that repetition, we need that practice.”
Seton Hall had 22 turnovers, and the Friars (11-6, 1-3) scored 23 points off those.
“I liked the way our guys battled,” Willard said, “we were just too careless with the ball. You can't turn it over 22 times on the road and expect to win. We got off to a good start and then we just got a little sloppy with the ball.”
The Pirates actually led 12-4 in the early going thanks mostly to a pair of threes by Myles Cale, and were up 33-30 at halftime. But momentum and the ball turned (over) in the second half, as the Friars took advantage of unforced errors. Makai Ashton-Langford’s driving layup with 8:48 left broke a tie and put the Friars ahead to stay, 51-49.
Unlike in most other games this season when it has trailed, The Hall couldn’t mount a late rally, largely because Powell never got untracked. He shot 4-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-6 from three-point range on his way to 12 points, his second-lowest total of the season.
“I thought (the Friars) did a good job switching out at times,” Willard said, “putting different guys (on Powell), (Alpha) Diallo, (Isaiah) Jackson, big guys.”
Powell and Diallo were called for a double technical with 37 seconds to go and the game already decided.
“When you're getting switched on,” Willard said, “you're getting grabbed, you're getting held, it gets a little frustrating.”
“When you have somebody like Powell on your team, you’re going to draw a lot of attention,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said, “and our guys were dialed in.”
“We knew it would be a tough matchup,” said 6-5 Providence freshman guard David Duke, “but whoever was on him had to dial in and stay focused and I think we did a good job with that today.”
“We kept fighting,” said Nzei, who had 10 points and eight rebounds, “(but) they were tough and they made their shots. We’ve got to be better in terms of being tough on the road to try to get these wins.”
Nzei couldn’t pinpoint any reasons for the turnovers. The Pirates were averaging only 11.6 turnovers entering the game.
“I felt like everyone out there was playing hard today,” he said.
But maybe too hard sometimes, trying to create things that weren’t there. After Willard called a timeout with his team trailing 40-38, freshman point guard Anthony Nelson tried a one-on-one drive that resulted in a turnover and a layup the other way for Providence. That was the way the second half went for the Pirates, who will try to regroup against the Blue Demons.
“I’m actually looking forward to Thursday and Friday,” Willard said, “where we can have two days at home and practice.”
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
COMMENTS
