Mamukelashvili closes the show against Butler with a last second buzzer beater for the win

Date: February 20, 2020

By: Joe Cammarota

With 0.6 seconds left on the clock, Seton Hall and Butler were knotted up at 72.

Seton Hall had the ball under the basket with one shot to try and win the game in regulation. Seton Hall ran an inbounds play where Sandro Mamukelashvili caught the ball at the low block and got a shot off just in time to beat the buzzer to give Seton Hall the 74-72 victory.

The first half started with a very similar feel to last the few games Seton Hall has been a part of. Seton Hall kicked off the game cold from the field, shooting 0-4 from three early in the first half. On the defensive end, the team let Butler drain some long balls.

Bryce Golden, Bryce Nze, Kamar Baldwin, and Sean McDermott all connected from three in the first half. Golden led the way for the Bulldogs as he scored 12 in the opening period of shooting 4-7 from the field.

In the first for Seton Hall, they had contributors from a multitude of players, as Romaro Gill spearheaded the Pirates attack with nine points and a few ferocious slams, as Myles Powell scored eight, while Quincy McKnight and Mamukelashvili each chipped in with four.

Seton Hall was never able to make a huge dent in the first half. Almost every time it seemed Seton Hall would gain momentum, Butler hit a shot that quieted the crowd and took some confidence out of the Pirates. At the half, Butler led Seton Hall, 34-28.

McKnight commented on what got into the Hall at the break, “Staying confident was harped on. Just making shots, we are a great defensive team so we said, ‘Hey we aren’t making shots on offense so let’s make some stops on defensive.’”

Coming out of the half Seton Hall not only buckled down defensively, but they also got in a shooting groove. Mamukelashvili scored four early points in the second half and dished an assist to help Seton Hall narrow the gap to a two-point game at the first media timeout with all the momentum.

The Pirates defense kept the score close as they held Butler to a two-minute scoring drought coming out of the first media timeout of the second half. Then, the offense really started to heat up, as a Powell bucket and a McKnight three-pointer got the crowd on their feet.

A defensive stop led Powell to hit a jumper from the baseline that gave the Hall a 45-44 lead. After two media timeouts in quick succession, Butler was able to get some points back and create a back and forth game, thanks in part to some soft foul calls going in favor of Butler.

As the game went down the stretch, the Pirates were not able to pull away from Butler. Both teams practically traded baskets the rest of the way. With 19 seconds left in the game, Sean McDermott hit a huge three to cut the Seton Hall lead to one. Then, after two McKnight free throws, McDermott hit another three-pointer which it seemed would send the game to overtime.

Mamukelashvili spoke on his mindset during the game winner; “My father was in my head, I just wanted to score and make him proud. I feel like I just waited a little bit and that kind of confused [Butler] too because I felt if I went straight away they would have kept up.”

With the victory Seton Hall moves to 19-7 overall and 11-3 in conference. The victory also keeps them in sole possession of first place with a one game lead over Creighton. Seton Hall will attempt to start a two-game winning streak on Sunday when they face off against St. John’s at 2 p.m. in the Prudential Center.

Joe Cammarota can be reached at joseph.cammarota@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Men's Basketball