Seton Hall opened Big East play on Saturday, as they hosted Providence in what became a down-to-the-wire loss to the Friars, 71-67.
The game was tied four times in under five minutes to open the game, though baskets from Providence’s Ed Croswell and Noah Locke gave the opposition the largest lead of the game at 5 points. A 7-0 run capped off by a deep ball by Tray Jackson gave the Pirates the advantage again, 17-15, with 12:01 remaining in the first half.
An and-one from Kadary Richmond later in the half brought The Hall’s lead to six with 4:42 remaining. Providence made just one of their final 13 shots in the half and Richmond dominated, scoring seven of the teams’ 10 points. The Pirates held a 36-27 advantage headed into the break.
Kadary Richmond put on a show in the first half with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists to lead the way for Seton Hall. Jamir Harris and Jackson added 5 points each with both having a 3-point basket of their own.
Providence came out of the gates hot, scoring five points quickly to cut the lead down, 36-32 before KC Ndefo drew a foul on the made layup. The Friars continued their run, bringing it to a 20-7 burst that was capped off by Bryce Hopkins. Al-Amir Dawes tied the game at 51 after connecting on a triple with 9:07 left in the game.
The Friars extended their lead to seven with just 2:09 remaining until Richmond made a layup to help the Pirates diminish the deficit to one. Despite a valiant effort, Providence walked out of the Prudential Center with a victory.
Richmond led all scorers with 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting, while pulling in 9 rebounds and dishing 5 assists. KC Ndefo added 11 points and Dawes followed with 8 points and 5 rebounds.
Hopkins led the Friars with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Ed Croswell nearly had a double-double with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Noah Locke scored 10 points and had 4 assists.
The Pirates fall to 7-5 and drop their first game in conference play. They will return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 20th as they travel to Cincinnati, Ohio to face Xavier and continue Big East play.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023.
