By Colin Rajala
The Seton Hall Pirates traveled 27 miles south down the Garden State Parkway to New Brunswick in an attempt to salvage their season with a win versus the burgeoning Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the Garden State Hardwood Classic on Saturday afternoon.
The 75th meeting between the local rivals was an instant classic that played out much like the recent games in the series, where 23 of the last 30 matchups have been decided by six points or less.
With the game knotted at 63 and with just over six seconds remaining, Rutgers freshman phenom Dylan Harper raced the ball up the court and buried a buzzer beating three from the wing to lift the Scarlet Knights to the 66-63 victory and win the Joe Calabrese MVP award.
Harper led all scorers with 24 points, including 18 in the second half, connecting on 4/7 from three to go along with two rebounds and two assists, while Rutgers’ other freshman phenom Ace Bailey tallied 21 points and seven rebounds in the winning effort.
Leading 63-59 with 32 seconds remaining, Harper stepped up to the free throw line with the opportunity to secure the victory with two shots, but he missed both, which led to sophomore guard Isaiah Coleman ripping down an offensive rebound and converting a putback less than 13 seconds later to close the score to 63-61 with 19 ticks left.
The Pirates put Bailey at charity stripe but the diaper dandy missed both freebies under pressure leaving the door open for Seton Hall to tie or take the lead. Coleman, who led all Seton Hall scorers with 15 points, got fouled after trying to convert his own miss and calmly buried two free throws to tie the game at 63 before Harper’s heroics ended the rivalry game.
Seton Hall brought its typical defensive intensity to start the matchup, forcing six early turnovers en route to the early 8-3 advantage after Coleman put up a shot fake from three before pulling up for a smooth midrange jumper.
The Pirates forced the issue down low early, scoring 10 of their first 16 points in the paint, and extended their early lead to 16-8 with less than 10 minutes to go in the first half when graduate guard Chaunce Jenkins drove to the hoop and posterized Bailey.
The Scarlet Knights adapted to Seton Hall’s defensive pressure and closed the opening half making eight of their final 10 field goals, but still trailed 33-27.
Seton Hall’s lead was due in large part to recording nine steals and three blocks for an 11-3 advantage in the turnover battle, which led to them outscoring Rutgers 11-2 in points off turnovers. The Pirates bench outscored Rutgers 18-6 in the opening half as well, but Harper and Bailey combined for 21 of the home team’s 27 to keep them within striking distance.
The Hall channeled a similar defensive intensity as the opening of the game and took its largest lead of the game less than two minutes into the second half when Coleman stole a pass from Bailey, raced up the floor and dunked it for a 39-29 lead.
Less than eight minutes later the lead would evaporate completely as Harper would convert a layup off an inbounds for the 46-44 lead, the Scarlet Knights first advantage since 3-2 in the first two minutes of the game.
The teams traded blows back and forth with less than five minutes remaining before Coleman gave Seton Hall the 57-56 lead with 3:31 to go on a wing three off the assist from graduate guard Dylan Addae-Wusu.
Bailey responded on the ensuing possession with a three of his own after the dish from Harper to regain the lead 59-57, which Rutgers would not squander the rest of the way despite the best efforts of the two freshmen.
The Seton Hall Pirates traveled 27 miles south down the Garden State Parkway to New Brunswick in an attempt to salvage their season with a win versus the burgeoning Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the Garden State Hardwood Classic on Saturday afternoon.
The 75th meeting between the local rivals was an instant classic that played out much like the recent games in the series, where 23 of the last 30 matchups have been decided by six points or less.
With the game knotted at 63 and with just over six seconds remaining, Rutgers freshman phenom Dylan Harper raced the ball up the court and buried a buzzer beating three from the wing to lift the Scarlet Knights to the 66-63 victory and win the Joe Calabrese MVP award.
Harper led all scorers with 24 points, including 18 in the second half, connecting on 4/7 from three to go along with two rebounds and two assists, while Rutgers’ other freshman phenom Ace Bailey tallied 21 points and seven rebounds in the winning effort.
Leading 63-59 with 32 seconds remaining, Harper stepped up to the free throw line with the opportunity to secure the victory with two shots, but he missed both, which led to sophomore guard Isaiah Coleman ripping down an offensive rebound and converting a putback less than 13 seconds later to close the score to 63-61 with 19 ticks left.
The Pirates put Bailey at charity stripe but the diaper dandy missed both freebies under pressure leaving the door open for Seton Hall to tie or take the lead. Coleman, who led all Seton Hall scorers with 15 points, got fouled after trying to convert his own miss and calmly buried two free throws to tie the game at 63 before Harper’s heroics ended the rivalry game.
Seton Hall brought its typical defensive intensity to start the matchup, forcing six early turnovers en route to the early 8-3 advantage after Coleman put up a shot fake from three before pulling up for a smooth midrange jumper.
The Pirates forced the issue down low early, scoring 10 of their first 16 points in the paint, and extended their early lead to 16-8 with less than 10 minutes to go in the first half when graduate guard Chaunce Jenkins drove to the hoop and posterized Bailey.
The Scarlet Knights adapted to Seton Hall’s defensive pressure and closed the opening half making eight of their final 10 field goals, but still trailed 33-27.
Seton Hall’s lead was due in large part to recording nine steals and three blocks for an 11-3 advantage in the turnover battle, which led to them outscoring Rutgers 11-2 in points off turnovers. The Pirates bench outscored Rutgers 18-6 in the opening half as well, but Harper and Bailey combined for 21 of the home team’s 27 to keep them within striking distance.
The Hall channeled a similar defensive intensity as the opening of the game and took its largest lead of the game less than two minutes into the second half when Coleman stole a pass from Bailey, raced up the floor and dunked it for a 39-29 lead.
Less than eight minutes later the lead would evaporate completely as Harper would convert a layup off an inbounds for the 46-44 lead, the Scarlet Knights first advantage since 3-2 in the first two minutes of the game.
The teams traded blows back and forth with less than five minutes remaining before Coleman gave Seton Hall the 57-56 lead with 3:31 to go on a wing three off the assist from graduate guard Dylan Addae-Wusu.
Bailey responded on the ensuing possession with a three of his own after the dish from Harper to regain the lead 59-57, which Rutgers would not squander the rest of the way despite the best efforts of the two freshmen.
