Seton Hall
Sloppy Pirate defense leads to 97-93 loss to DePaul
Date: January 19, 2019By Wilnir Louis
In their rematch against DePaul, the Seton Hall Pirates fell to the Blue Demons 97-93 inside of the Prudential Center.
To start the first half, Myles Cale was on fire. His first three-pointer came with 17:55 left in the first half, which gave the Pirates a 5-4 lead early on. He then scored five minutes later when another three gave the Pirates a 19-16 lead with 13:19 left. He continued to hit his shots, and a shot behind the arc after a Sandro Mamukelashvili pass gave the Pirates their largest lead of the first half, with the score being 31-24 with 8:15 left.
The Blue Demons did not concede though, and back-to-back threes by Max Strus tied the ball game back up with the score being 32-32. DePaul slowly gained momentum, and with 1:22 left in the first half, a four-point play by Max Strus gave the Blue Demons a 48-42 lead. The Pirates retaliated strong, and a dunk by Cale, a layup by McKnight, and a buzzer-beating three by Mamukelashvili gave the Pirates a 49-48 lead heading into halftime.
In the second half, DePaul started strong to take the lead again. After a Strus three-pointer, the score was 60-55 with 14:41 left in the game. The Pirates were able to fight and tie the game up after a Mamukelashvili layup with 10:36 left. The Hall was able to regain the lead with 8:56 left after a pull-up jumper by McKnight made the score 67-66. DePaul answered with a second-chance layup by Strus, and they were able to retake the lead and never relinquish it. The Pirates were in striking distance for a majority of the closing minutes of the matchup, however, made free throws and rebounds by the Blue Demons kept the Pirates behind.
After the game, Powell reflected on his career as a Pirate to show that this is not the first time he has been down.
“My freshman year we [were] 3-7, and last year we lost four straight and we found ourselves with our backs against the wall…In the past, we never let up. We came together as brothers and found a way to win.”
Powell also explained how this rough stretch for the Pirates is expected.
“You have highs and lows in a season… [But] I know we’re going to come back and win games.”
The Pirates have lost four of their last five games, but head coach Kevin Willard has high hopes for the rest of the season.
“I think this week [off] will be good for us to get back into good rhythm and being solid.”
The Pirates will return to action next Sunday when they go into Philadelphia to face Villanova on Jan. 27. Tip-off will be at 2:30 P.M. and all of the action will be covered on 89.5 FM WSOU starting at 2:15.
Wilnir Louis can be reached at wilnir.louis@student.shu.edu.
