The Seton Hall Pirates won an overtime thriller against the Providence Friars, 72-70, on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at the Prudential Center.
Myles Powell knocked in the game-winning shot with just nine seconds left in overtime as the Pirates got their revenge for the 65-61 loss they suffered at the hands of the Friars back on Jan. 14.
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Providence got off to an early lead in the first half, going on a 19-2 run and surging to a 27-12 lead with 8:28 to go. The Pirates answered right back with a run of their own, going 22-8 over the next seven minutes to pull within one point. Seton Hall was on the verge of taking the lead, but a foul by Madison Jones and a flagrant-one foul by Desi Rodriguez sent Rodney Bullock to the line twice, where he extended the PC lead to 41-36 at the end of the half.
Neither team was able to pull away to a substantial lead in the second half. The Pirates led by as much as five and the Friars led by as much as four, but it was a one-possession game for the majority of the half. Rodriguez was sent to the line with the Hall down 61-60, where he hit one of two to tie the game up. After a Providence turnover, the Pirates had one last chance to win the game before overtime. Powell got open on the left wing but missed a buzzer-beating three to force overtime.
The tight battle continued in overtime, where neither team was able to pull ahead by more than three points. Down 66-65 with 2:30 to go, the Pirates turned to Khadeen Carrington, who hit a three-pointer to put the Hall up by two. When Emmitt Holt of the Friars tied the game at 68, Carrington again hit the go-ahead shot with just a minute to go. Holt was sent to the line with 38 seconds left, where he hit two free throws to bring the game even at 70. With the clock winding down, Powell drove the lane and put up a layup, which rattled around the rim and in to put the Pirates up 72-70. Kyron Cartwright went for the game-tying shot at the buzzer, but it was off the mark and the Pirates walked away victorious.
Carrington led the way for Seton Hall with 21 points on 8-14 shooting (3-4 from beyond the arc), seven rebounds and five assists. Powell had 14 points, and Angel Delgado put up another double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
Coach Kevin Willard spoke very highly of Powell’s performance. “As he continues to grow and get better and play games in this league…you’re going to see [him] continue to blossom, become and
“As he continues to grow and get better and play games in this league…you’re going to see [him] continue to blossom, become an elite scorer, and an elite player,” Willard said.
“I knew it was going in,” Powell said when asked about his game-winning shot. “I had no self-doubt.”
Seton Hall wins its second consecutive game, both of which went into overtime. When asked about how the team won both games, Willard credited the team’s ability to shoot free throws, saying that past losses to Marquette and Xavier were decided by poor shooting from the stripe.
Carrington played a career-high 44 minutes against Providence.
“There’s no time for being tired right now,” Carrington said. “The big thing right now is rest…getting rest in between classes, and after practice getting treatment. There’s seven games left, so there’s not really any time to be tired.”
Seton Hall improves to 15-8 (5-6 in conference) on the season, while Providence falls to 14-11 (4-8 in conference). The Pirates resume action on Saturday, Feb. 11 when they travel to New York City to take on the St. John’s Red Storm. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.
Matt Lapolla can be reached at matthew.lapolla@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @MatthewLapolla.
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