Through fists and fouls, Pirates defeat Marquette 81-79

Date: March 16, 2019

By Frank Frasco

 

In a thrilling finish, the Pirates are headed back to the Big East Championship for the first time since 2016 after defeating the second seeded Marquette 81-79 thanks to another 20 point outing by Myles Powell.

 

In a semifinal that was undeniably hyped up, the gameplay and officiating surpassed any initial expectation, and then some. With 12 minutes remaining in the game, Myles Powell drove to the rim and while trying to dish it to Romaro Gill took a spill at the floor. However, in midair, Marquette center Theo John pushed Powell slightly while he was airborne, causing the junior to dramatically fall to the ground and then quickly get back up in John’s face. Within a second of the scuffle, forward Sandro Mamukelashvili entered the mix with a shove toward John. In a 10-minute officiating delay, both Mamukelashvili and John were ejected, as well as Sacar Anim who was thrown out with two technical fouls.

 

The biggest ejection initially came on Powell, who was rushed to the locker room, crying as he thought he was done for the game. However, according to the officials, Powell had not been ejected since his earlier flagrant personal foul is a different penalty than the technical foul.

 

As if it was scripted, Coach Willard emphatically summoned his assistant Duane Woodward to grab Powell from the locker room. As he re-entered from the tunnel, the entire Pirate Nation applauded in jubilation. Powell knew that this was his time for redemption.

 

“It was crazy just to be able to get called back to the game. I was happy. I felt like I let my teammates down. Them giving me a second chance, I really appreciate it. It’s all a blessing.”

 

It has already been stated that no Pirate will be suspended for tomorrow’s matchup against the Wildcats.

 

In a game that was surrounded by the Big East First Team selections, Powell and Howard, it was the role players that initially stepped up early as Sam Hauser’s three ball was absolutely deadly. The junior finished the first half with 13 points, 3-4 from beyond the arc. The younger Hauser, Joey, also made a tremendous impact early heading into the locker room at half with double digits in scoring.

 

However, it all came back down to the impressive defensive display of Quincy McKnight on Big East Player of the Year Markus Howard, who was held to 21 points on 1-15 from the field.

 

Kevin Willard praised both his junior point guard as well as the big man Gill, stating that “Q worked really hard, and I thought Gill was really good in pick-and-roll defense in the second half, just using his length and being big.”

 

It was an ugly, rough, physical basketball game that this conference is fundamentally established from. Coach Willard was asked the glaring question at the press conference about the similarities between this team and the 2016 title squad.

 

“This team reminds me a little bit of them just because we’re young. We play really hard, we’re scrappy, and we’re led by a phenomenal player.”

 

On his game plan for tomorrow after a long night at the Garden:

 

“Hopefully, we can get out of here at some point.”

 

It’s a classic Seton Hall vs. Villanova matchup that will no doubt disappoint. Tune into 89.5 FM WSOU at 6:30 as Matt Ambrose and Frank Frasco give you the championship call inside the World’s Most Famous Arena.

 

Frank Frasco can be reached at frank.frasco@student.shu.edu.

 

Posted in: Men's Basketball, Sports, WSOU