Fuquan Edwin entered Saturday's game against Georgetown needing two steals to become the Seton Hall all-time steals leader.
He got five.
It was the senior's big day but it ended abruptly with 2:08 remaining. Edwin fouled out but not before scoring 19 second half points for a total of 24, leaving his team in a position the program hadn't been in over a decade.
The Pirates held an eight-point lead over Georgetown and just needed to hold on for two minutes to pull off something that hasn't been done since 2003.
Sterling Gibbs, the Pirates leading free-throw shooter, became unreliable after three straight missed foul shots; Gibbs was 6 of 15 from the line. Coach Kevin Willard took a time out to draw up a play with 50.5 seconds left and a seven-point lead, with Gibbs inbounding the ball.
The ball went in to 6-foot 10-inch power forward Patrik Auda, who at that point had just 2 points on the day and missed his lone free throw attempt. The big lefty was fouled, put to the line and drained both free throws, icing a victory for the Pirates in front of a stunned crowd at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.
Senior Brian Oliver added another free throw on the next possession and Seton Hall snapped their three-game losing streak with a 67-57 victory.
The Pirates won their game with defense and three-point shooting. Seton Hall was 11-20 from beyond the arc and held the Hoyas without a field goal in the last nine minutes of the game.
Center Eugene Teague returned for the Pirates and provided size down low against a Georgetown team that was without 6-foot 10-inch, 350-pound big man Joshua Smith. Teague had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Oliver added seven points going 2-5 from three-point range and Gibbs had 11 points, six rebounds and eight assists.
The conference win gives the Pirates a 2-3 record in Big East play and the team will stay on the road for their next game on Thursday against St. John's in Queens at Carnesecca Arena.
Gerard Gilberto can be reached at gerard.gilberto@student.shu.edu.
