Seton Hall
Seton Hall Falls in Thriller to Marquette
Date: February 8, 2018
(Photo: SHU Athletics)
By: Jose Feliciano
The Seton Hall Pirates (6-5 Big East, 17-7 Overall) fell to the Marquette Golden Eagles (5-7 Big East, 14-10 Overall) 88-85. It was a thriller until the very end, but the Seton Hall defense once again could not stop Marquette high-powered offense once again as the Golden Eagles shot 48 percent from the field. The last time the two met this season the Golden Eagles took down the Pirates by a score of 84-64. Free throws were a major problem in this one as the Pirates only shot 61 percent from behind the line. On the flip side, the Golden Eagles hit 87 percent of their field goals. Rebounding, usually, a strength for the Pirates was also a problem as they were out-rebounded by Marquette 42-32.
It was a tight one early on as both teams exchanged leads after the first two media timeouts. Both offenses were clicking as they both shot 57 percent from the field. Marquette picked it up after that and went on an 11-0 run on the Pirates. The Seton Hall defense could not stop the three-pointers as Andrew Rowsey and Markus Howard hit a combined three three-pointers in the run.
"That was not our best effort, no energy or effort on the defensive end," senior Desi Rodriguez said. "We got to get it together; the seniors, myself included, and the young guys have to get it together."
Seton Hall responded with a run of their own as they managed an 8-0 run, capped off with a Jordan Walker steal and a three-pointer.
Howard led the way for the Golden Eagles in the first half with 15 points. Marquette as a team shot 59 percent from the field in the first half as well as 54 percent from three-point range. The trio of Khadeen Carrington, Myles Powell, and Desi Rodriguez, who each had nine points, led the Pirates. Seton Hall finished the first half down by one with a score of 42-41.
The Golden Eagles began to break away in the second half with their three-point shooting as they hit their first four attempts in the half. Their biggest lead in the half was 10 points. The Pirates never gave in as they came back strong and were within two in the last minute. Khadeen Carrington fouled out in the midst of the comeback effort but was replaced by Jordan Walker, who filled in and performed well, especially on defense as he managed two steals in a mere 10 minutes of play. Walker ended up fouling out of the game as well. Both steals gave a major spark to the Pirates but was not enough to win them the game. The Pirates did their very best to stay close with Marquette, with Myles Powell even hitting a buzzer beater at the end of the game despite being down six.
The Pirates shot 43 percent from the field overall and 48 percent from behind the arc. Turnovers were not a problem for the Pirates today as they only had four of them. They shared the ball well too, managing 15 assists. SHU also had eight steals. Rodriguez led the Pirate offense with 21 points along with three rebounds and four assists. Marquette, on the other hand, shot 48 percent from the field and 63 percent from three-point range. Markus Howard led the game in scoring with 32 points and had seven rebounds and three assists. All five of the Marquette starters had double-digit points today.
"We understand where we are and we know it was a tough loss but we are just going to get back on the road to Georgetown," Head Coach Kevin Willard said after the game.
The Pirates will be back in action next Saturday at 4 p.m. as they will take on the Georgetown Hoyas (3-9 Big East, 13-10 Overall) in Washington D.C. The Pirates defeated the Hoyas already this season at home with a 74-61 victory. Pregame coverage of that one begins at 3:30 p.m. on 89.5 FM WSOU.
Jose Feliciano can be reached at jose.feliciano@student.shu.edu.
