33 days. That's how long it has been since the men's basketball team (14-15, 3-13) won a game before tonight's 66-65 victory over Villanova (18-11, 9-7).
"It's been 33 tough days," head coach Kevin Willard said. "There's been smiles but not the smiles I saw back there (locker room), which was really nice. I'm just thrilled we got a W."
Junior Fuquan Edwin gave the Pirates the victory with nine seconds remaining on a 3-pointer that hit nothing but net.
"It feels good," Edwin said. "It's been a rough year, a down year for us. It just feels good to get a win especially like that, get over that hump."
Setting up the shot was sophomore Haralds Karlis and freshman Tommy Maayan trapping Wildcat junior James Bell in the backcourt. Bell tried dribbling through the double-team but Maayan stole the ball away and found Edwin open.
"That's what coach told us to do, trap the first pass," Maayan said. "I came up with the steal and I saw Fu and knew he was the guy that needed to take that shot."
Edwin went for the victory on the final shot, stepping behind the 3-point line instead of driving to the open basket and forcing overtime.
"I didn't want to go for the two," Edwin said. "It was feeling good all game. When I saw I was that free and I had an opportunity like that, I took advantage of that."
While the come from behind victory brought new life to the Seton Hall locker room, Villanova looked to have put a dagger in the Pirates on two separate occasions. First with sophomore Darrun Hilliard knocking down a 3-pointer to go up four with 1:22 to go and then again with 20 seconds remaining from senior Mouphtaou Yarou along the baseline to go up four once again.
"That was a ball buster," Willard said of Yarou's basket.
Edwin repeated his coach's comments.
"That defiantly was a dagger," Edwin said. "I was right there in position to rebound that ball. It took a toll on me physically and mentally, so I know it took a toll on everyone else. Just another situation we had to overcome."
The biggest reaction to the win was just the relief that it brought to the entire team, ending the Hall's longest losing streak since 1984-85, nine games.
"We've been saying the past couple days that it's going to end, it has to end. It can't go on the whole season," sophomore Aaron Cosby said.
Cosby helped fuel the victory playing 39 out of a possible 40 minutes putting up a game high 21 points to go along with six assists. Edwin added another 18 points but the story for the Pirates was the way they shot the three ball, converting on 61.9 percent of their shots from long range, their highest percentage of the season.
"I thought we had the right guys shooting," Willard said. "As long as those guys are shooting I feel like they are going to go in every time."
Not only did the Pirates collect their first victory over Villanova since 2004, a span of 10 games, but it also hurt the Wildcats NCAA Tournament chances, something that is all too familiar to this Seton Hall team.
"We defiantly talked about that, misery does love company," Edwin said. "But it more wasn't about ending their chances of going to the tournament; it was more us building our confidence. We still have the same team coming back next year, it would feel good to end on a winning note."
The team now has eight days off before they travel to Providence, R.I. to face the Friars at 9:00 p.m. in the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
Stephen Valenti can be reached at stephen.valenti@student.shu.edu
