The Seton Hall men's basketball team continued its downward spiral on Saturday afternoon, losing 69-46 to the struggling Connecticut Huskies and extending its losing streak to six games.
Seton Hall (15-8, 4-7) was without senior forward Herb Pope in the game after he suffered bruised ribs while diving for a loose ball in the team's last game against Marquette, while Connecticut (15-7, 5-5), who snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory, was without head coach Jim Calhoun who took an indefinite medical leave of absence this past week.
The Pirates were unable to fix their scoring woes, shooting 25.9 percent (15-of-58) from the field and a putrid 19.2 percent (5-of-26) from beyond the arc.
For the Huskies, the game was a chance to get back on track after dropping four close games in a row. They shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) and only converted two 3-pointers, but turned free throws into easy points by going 21-of-26 (80.8 percent) at the line.
Connecticut was led by freshman guard Ryan Boatright who finished with 19 points, five assists, four steals, and two rebounds in just his third game back after serving a three-game suspension for a recruiting violation.
The Huskies received major minutes from senior forward Alex Oriakhi who notched 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench, while sophomore Jeremy Lamb scored 17 points thanks to his free throw shooting (9-of-12), despite going 3-of-10 from the field.
Freshman center Andre Drummond was a defensive stalwart for Connecticut, blocking seven shots and grabbing six rebounds in addition to his seven points.
Seton Hall struggled to do much of anything offensively for the sixth straight game. The Pirates were led by senior Jordan Theodore and freshman Aaron Cosby who both finished with 10 points. Theodore had seven turnovers and only three assists.
Sophomore Patrik Auda's troubles continued as he was dropped from the starting lineup again, finishing with no points (0-of-3) and three rebounds in just 12 minutes of play. Auda committed three fouls in the first six minutes of the game, prompting a quick benching by head coach Kevin Willard.
Auda's front-court counterparts did not fare much better. Sophomore Aaron Geramipoor had four points and just two rebounds, while freshman Brandon Mobley shot a poor 2-of-10 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. Mobley also committed five turnovers.
Not one Pirate finished the game with more than three field goals made for the first time all season.
The Pirates are back in action on Wednesday night when they had to Piscataway, N.J. for a rivalry matchup with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m.
John Lopiano can be reached at john.lopiano@student.shu.edu. For more Seton Hall basketball news, notes, and opinions, follow John on Twitter @JohnLopiano
