The men’s basketball team faced their first challenge of the season, facing an undefeated Iowa team at the Prudential Center on Wednesday.
The game was apart of the Gavitt Tipoff, an annual eight-game series played between the Big Ten and Big East conferences. Prior to tonight’s matchup, the Big East stood at 1-3 in the Gavitt Tipoff this season.
A 10-2 run for Seton Hall commenced as soon as the ball tipped off with Tyrese Samuel starting the night at the charity stripe, securing two easy points in a matchup where every point mattered. Jamir Harris and Kadary Richmond nailed a pair of threes during the run, and Dre Davis tacked on another.
Iowa went on a 14-3 run into the media timeout on the strength of 12 points from Kris Murray to take a 3-point advantage. An eight-minute scoring drought for the Pirates in the first half allowed the Hawkeyes to cushion their lead until Samuel checked back in to slam it home and cut the lead to seven, 23-16.
Iowa then went on another run, this time an uncontested 8-0 run, and held a 34-22 advantage into the break. Both sides struggled offensively as the Pirates shot 20% overall, 30% from behind-the-arc, and committed 11 turnovers. The Hawkeyes weren’t perfect either as Murray’s 16 points did not boost their 33% shooting from the field.
Coach Holloway flipped a switch coming out of the gate in the second half as Seton Hall connected on six straight points to cut the lead in half, 34-28, and force a timeout from Iowa. The Hawkeyes would not let up and kept the Pirates at a nine-point deficit at the U-16 media timeout. Down the stretch, Davis and Harris nailed back-to-back triples to cut the lead down to just five points, though the lead was insurmountable.
Seton Hall walked away with its first loss of the season in its matchup with Iowa, 83-67. The Hawkeyes dominated on both ends with Murray posting a huge 29-point, 11-rebound double-double followed by Filip Rebraca’s 10 points and 11 rebounds. Tony Perkins added 18 points and five assists in the victory.
For the Pirates, Davis posted his best game of the season with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting along with four rebounds. Harris and Richmond added 11 points each. Samuel nearly had a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. KC Ndefo rounded out the lineup with eight points and some key defensive plays.
The Pirates return to action for their fourth-straight home game against Wagner on Nov. 20 at 3 p.m.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023.
