The men's basketball team came up one point short of forcing overtime in a 67-66 heartbreaker against Marquette on Saturday afternoon.
The Pirates (10-7, 1-3) trailed the Golden Eagles (10-7, 2-2) for all but the first two minutes of the contest, but were able to overcome a 16-point deficit in the second half to make a last-second push for victory.
Redshirt senior Brian Oliver led the scoring for the Hall with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half where the Pirates outscored Marquette 40-27. Redshirt sophomore Sterling Gibbs also thrived in the second half, scoring 11 of his 13 points after the break.
Freshman Jaren Sina started the comeback in the second half when he hit a three-pointer that triggered an 11-4 run for the Pirates. The rally was capped with a tip-in by Oliver that brought Seton Hall within single digits of Marquette for the first time since 3:35 in the first half
Gibbs led the next run of 9-2 for the Pirates with a three-pointer and a three-point play halfway through the second half to cut the Golden Eagles' lead to five. With two minutes left in regulation, the Pirates saw back-to-back three-pointers by Oliver and redshirt junior Patrik Auda make it a one-possession game. Auda contributed 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds in the losing effort.
The Pirates were unable to close the deal after Marquette converted both free throws to make it a four-point game with only 21 seconds remaining. Seton Hall came up short on their final possession, and Gibbs' last-second halfcourt heave brought the Pirates within one point as the buzzer sounded.
Pirates senior captain Fuquan Edwin scored seven points and had five rebounds in 28 minutes of play in his first game back after missing four games due to an injury. His two steals in the game moved Edwin into sole possession of second place on the all-time steals list for Seton Hall. He is now only two steals behind Dan Callandrillo's school record of 260.
Marquette was led by Jamil Wilson's double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds and his teammate Todd Mayo who had 19 points.
The Pirates have a week off before they play again at Georgetown next Saturday at 12 p.m.
Michael Romano can be reached at micheal.romano1@student.shu.edu.
