Seton Hall
Comeback falls short as St. Louis beats Pirates, 66-64
Date: November 17, 2018By Wilnir Louis
The Pirates started to spark a comeback, but it ultimately was not enough as they lost to Saint Louis 66-64 in their first game of the season at the Prudential Center.
In the first half, the Pirates took an early lead before the first media timeout. A layup by Romaro Gill after a turnover gave the Pirates an early 8-4 lead going into the U16 timeout. The Pirates would end up surrendering their lead with 13:45 left in the first half, after a three pointer by Fred Thatch Jr. gave the Billikens a 10-9 lead. After that, neither team would gain a lead greater than one possession until a three-pointer by Dion Wiley gave Saint Louis a 29-23 lead with 4:38 left in the half. The Billikens would take their lead into halftime, with the score being 33-28.
Saint Louis came out of the half blazing, going on a run to give them a 12-point lead with 14:20 left. The Pirates would continue to fight, and cut down the Billikens lead to as little as four, after a layup by Sandro Mamukelashvili made the score 54-50 with 7:49 left to go in the game. Saint Louis would then take control of the game again, and bring the lead back up to double digits with 4:11 left to go.
The Pirates would show their grit right before the media timeout. Myles Powell made a basket and got the foul right before the media break. Coming out of the break, Powell converted the three point play to make the score 61-54 with 3:59 left. A jumper by Qunicy McKnight cut the Billikens lead to five with 3:03 left. Two free-throws by Powell and two free throws by McKnight cut the lead to only two with 1:39 left. Saint Louis was hitting their free throws and were up 64-61 with 16 seconds left. A foul by McKnight put Wiley on the line, where he made the first but missed the second. Mamukelashvili would end up getting the rebound and passing it to Powell who ran down court and made a three with 11 seconds left in the game.
After a timeout called by the Pirates, Seton Hall would then foul Wiley again, where he would make the first one and miss the second one. McKnight got the rebound, pushed the ball into the paint, where he would pass it to Mamukelashvili at the wing with and open look. Mamukelashvili took the three and missed and Saint Louis would walk out of Newark with a win.
After the game, the team took this loss on the chin and viewed it as a learning experience.
Powell, after only taking two shots in the first half, described in his eyes how Saint Louis was matching him up and what he took from it.
“It seemed like they were just subbing in different guys just to guard me…We’re going to back, watch film and see how I can get open shots, better shots and get my team involved.”
McKnight explained one major positive in this game that could be key in future games.
“We definitely have a lot of grit, and [the comeback] showed that we could fight back”
Finally, head coach Kevin Willard believes that their road trip to California will be a great thing for the Pirates.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there and getting these guys away from everything. Giving them a chance for a change in scenery, change in pace, change in practice and, most importantly, get games under our belt. I think the more games we get under our belt, the better this group will be.”
The Pirates next game will be in Fullerton, California for the Wooden Legacy tournament. Their first game will be against Grand Canyon on November 22. Tipoff for that game will be at 9 P.M., and coverage of that game will be available on 89.5FM WSOU and iHeart Radio.
Wilnir Louis can be reached at wilnir.louis@student.shu.edu.
