Seton Hall Falls Short At Xavier, 73-70 - Seton Hall University Athletics
Cincinnati, Ohio - Junior Kadary Richmond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with five assists and senior Tyrese Samuel (Montreal, Quebec) posted
shupirates.com
70 Seton Hall 7-6,0-2 Big East 
73 Xavier 10-3,2-0 Big East Score By Periods
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Cincinnati, Ohio - Junior Kadary Richmond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting with five assists and senior Tyrese Samuel (Montreal, Quebec) posted 14 points and pulled down six rebounds as the Seton Hall men's basketball team battled Xavier in front of a raucous crowd of 10,224 at Cintas Center but ultimately fell short, 73-70.
Seton Hall (7-6, 0-2 BIG EAST) held Xavier, who entered the game as the third best three-point shooting team in Division I, to their lowest shooting percentage from beyond the arc of the season (25 percent, 5-of-20). The Pirates' defense also held the Musketeers to its second-lowest point total this season.
How It Happened
A jumper in the lane by Samuel and a layup by Richmond got the Pirates started and gave them an early 4-0 lead. Xavier countered with a 7-0 run that turned a one-point hole into a six-point lead, 17-11, with 12:47 to play in the first half, forcing Seton Hall to call a timeout.
With the Musketeers leading by five, 35-30, with 2:15 to play in the half, the Pirates used a 6-0 spurt to cut deficit to one but Xavier extended the lead to three on a dunk that made the halftime score 37-34.
The Pirates continued to battle in the second half, giving a Xavier team that had won six in a row all they could handle on their home floor. A three by senior Al-Amir Dawes (Newark, N.J.) put the Pirates up by one, 50-49, with 13:31 to go in the game and Odukale tied the game twice on two made free throws and a made layup with five minutes to play.
A three-pointer for Xavier with 3:36 left gave them a seven point lead, 68-61, but another Dawes three out of timeout stopped the bleeding and trimmed the Xavier lead to four, 68-64 with 3:18 to go.
The Musketeers were clinging onto a two-point lead with under a minute left when Richmond was fouled, giving Seton Hall a chance to tie the score. Richmond would make one of two free throws that made it 71-70 and the Musketeers connected on two from the stripe, extending their lead to 73-70. Despite a good look at a game-tying three-point basket at the end, The Hall couldn't extend the game.
Inside The Numbers
- Seton Hall outshot Xavier, shooting at a 46 percent clip to Xavier's 45 percent.
- Both teams had 14 turnovers but Xavier had the edge in points off turnovers, 20-12.
- The Musketeers finished plus-four on the glass, 38-34.
- The Pirates had the 19-9 edge on second-chance points.
- Seton Hall's defense held Xavier to their third lowest field goal percentage of the season (45 percent).
- On a first half free throw, Dawes registered his 1,000th career point.
- Junior Femi Odukale (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tied his career high with nine rebounds, to go along with eight points and four assists.
- Senior Tray Jackson (Detroit, Mich.) had nine points off the bench on 4-of-7 shooting.
- Freshman Tae Davis (Indianapolid, Ind.) pulled down four rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
Seton Hall will enjoy the Christmas holiday before heading back on the road again as the Pirates take on Marquette in Milwaukee on Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. Dave Popkin and Kim Adams will call the action on the Seton Hall Basketball Radio Network that can be heard on the SHU Pirates mobile app, the Varsity network and SiriusXM.
