PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
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Seton Hall’s chances to eke their way into the 2023 NCAA Tournament took another hit Saturday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion as the short-handed Pirates faltered in the second half and 20th ranked UConn escaped the upset bid with a 64-55 victory.
The Hall’s chances for a season sweep over the Huskies came up short as the Pirates were unable to overcome an almost seven-minute scoring drought in the second half, while the Huskies controlled around the tin, scoring 34 points in the paint, outrebounding the visitors 39-25 and converting 15 second chance points.
UConn moved past Seton Hall in the conference standings to fifth place, leaving the Pirates in sole possession of sixth place and a likely matchup in the first night of the Big East Tournament.
Seton Hall, which entered the second half only down six (33-27) despite some front court foul trouble, losing junior guard Kadary Richmond to a back injury in the opening stanza and missing junior forward Dre Davis for his sixth straight game, narrowed the score to 40-38 on a layup from senior forward Tyrese Samuel less than seven minutes into the half.
On the ensuing possession, UConn got an offensive rebound before junior wing Andre Jackson hammered home a slam dunk to spark the crowd and a 16-2 run over a nine-minute stretch to put the contest just out of reach no matter how hard Seton Hall tried to get back in it.
The Pirates lacked composure on both sides of the court over the course of the run – shooting 0-8 from the field, including 0-3 from long-range, turning the ball over five times and committing five fouls, which led to five made free throws for UConn. The Huskies’ run included two dunks from Jackson, two layups and a three pointer from sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins that capped the run to give the Nutmeggers a 56-40 advantage with just over six minutes remaining.
Seton Hall responded with a 13-3 run over the next minutes that featured four layups and five made free throws to chip away UConn’s lead to 59-53 with a minute and change remaining. Ultimately, it was too little too late as UConn made their free throws to keep the Pirates at arm’s length to wind down the game.
Hawkins led all scorers with 20 points to go along with five rebounds, while Jackson was the only other Husky in double figures, securing a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Pacing Seton Hall was Samuel with 16 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Al-Amir Dawes contributed 16 points and graduate forward KC Ndefo tallied 13 points, all of which came in the first half.
A much-needed week off for The Hall comes as they look to get healthy and back on track after losing three of their last four games. Their next contest, the first of three straight must win games if they are to go dancing for a second consecutive season, is a Friday evening matchup against 16th ranked Xavier Musketeers at what should be a raucous Prudential Center.
