Seton Hall traveled to Kansas after going 1-2 at the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando to take on defending national champions Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday.
Kadary Richmond began the night for the Pirates at the rim as he switched hands for a difficult layup to put them ahead 3-2 early. The Hall kept the game within reach throughout the first ten minutes, which included a three-point play from Tray Jackson down low to keep the deficit at two with 11:51 remaining in the game.
The Jayhawks took advantage of a cold streak from the Pirates with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes and forced a timeout from Coach Holloway. Tyrese Samuel made it a five point game with an and-one of his own, though Kansas followed with an 8-0 run for a double-digit lead, 34-21. An 8-3 burst from the Pirates was halted by a last second Jayhawks triple, and The Hall went into the half with a 40-29 deficit.
Richmond put together a stellar first half, scoring 11 points and having three rebounds and two assists. Samuel added eight points and three rebounds. Seton Hall shot 45.5% from the field overall before the break but were zero-for-seven from long range.
Femi Odukale opened the second half by making one-of-two free throws to cut the lead to 10, but Kansas did not take their foot off the gas. A 10-1 burst ensued from the Jayhawks, and the Pirates were unable to cut the lead below 15 points for the remainder of the game.
Kansas went on to win at home, 91-65, on the strength of six different players notching double figures. Led by 17 points by Kevin McCullar, Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick both added 15 points a piece while KJ Adams Jr. scored 11 points on Thursday. Dajuan Harris and Ernest Udeh Jr. rounded out the scoring with 10 points apiece.
For the Pirates, Richmond boasted his best performance of their season with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. He grabbed five rebounds and dished five assists. Samuel followed with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and three rebounds for the night. Jaquan Sanders added five points in limited minutes.
Seton Hall drops to 4-4 on the season, suffering their third straight loss. They will return to action on Dec. 7 at 8:30 p.m. when they host Lincoln University on campus at Walsh Gymnasium.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023.
