Seton Hall looked to end the season on a high note following a 3-game skid, as the men’s basketball team traveled north to Rhode Island to take on the No. 20 ranked Providence Friars in their regular season finale.
Jamir Harris started in place of the injured Kadary Richmond again and immediately converted on a three-pointer less than a minute into the game. The Friars held a 6-4 lead at the 18:15 mark of the first half, though it became the last time they led in the game.
With a 27-23 lead and just 7:25 left before the break, the Pirates used a 17-2 burst sparked by an Odukale triple to close the half. Dre Davis followed with consecutive 2-point field goals to give The Hall their first double-digit advantage.
The Pirates continued to build and went into halftime leading 44-25. Seven players scored for Seton Hall in the first half. Odukale led the way with 14 points, while Dre Davis added 11 points. KC Ndefo and Tyrese Samuel each had 6 points.
An Al-Amir Dawes make from behind-the-arc pushed the lead to 22 points, but the Friars began to cut the lead down. Providence trailed by just 13 points at the 11:57 mark of the second half, forcing Coach Shaheen Holloway to call a timeout.
Dre Davis answered with a personal 7-2 run capped off by a three-pointer to push the lead back to 18. The Seton Hall advantage became as large as 32, and they walked out of Providence with a commanding 82-58 victory.
Four Pirates notched double digits on Saturday, led by Dre Davis’ 24 points on 9-for-10 from the field off the bench. Odukale added 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Ndefo followed with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Dawes rounded out the scoring with 11 points.
The Hall shot a season-best 62.5 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from range. It is the team’s largest win over an AP Top 25 team. Coach Holloway ends the regular season at the helm with the most BIG EAST wins, most road wins, and most wins overall by a first-year head coach at Seton Hall.
Seton Hall finishes the regular season with a 10-10 record in conference play and 17-14 record overall. They look ahead to the BIG EAST Tournament, where they will face No. 10 DePaul at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, March 8th at 5:30 pm.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023.
