WSOU

Recap: Seton Hall Stunned by Siena Saints, 60-55

Date: November 28, 2022

By: Andrew Raccuglia

Kadary Richmond and the Pirates couldn't get it done in the final game of the ESPN Events Invitational.

Kayla Fonseca/WSOU

The Seton Hall Men’s Basketball team (4-3) did not have an answer to the Siena Saints (4-3), losing 60-55 and taking 4th Place in the 2022 ESPN Events Invitational.

In a game that the Pirates could have easily won. They faced the only mid-major opponent of the invitational after a huge Thanksgiving night win over Memphis, a hard-fought loss to the tournament’s eventual champion, Oklahoma, and having an off day in between, Seton Hall dropped the ball.

Senior forward Tyrese Samuel was able to score six of the Pirates’ first 13 points, taking a 13-5 lead with 13:15 left in the half off of a layup by graduate forward KC Ndefo.

After that, they went on a six-minute scoring drought from the field to allow a 14-1 run and relinquish the lead that the Saints would hold control of for nearly the rest of the game.

Shaheen Holloway decided to call a timeout with 8:29 left in the half, over the team’s inability to make layups, jumpers, or defend in the paint. They had made only 6-of-17 field goal attempts up to that point.

Following the break, Samuel checked back in and scored the next four points to put them behind by one, but Siena’s sophomore guard, Javian McCollum, made sure to keep them behind, 21-18, with his own jumper.  

The Pirates’ next five points were made on free throws, and the last two field goals

before halftime came from layups by senior forward Tray Jackson and junior guard Kadary Richmond.

The Hall went back into the locker room trailing by an alarming score of 35-27 to the Saints.

Out of the locker room, senior guard Al-Amir Dawes made two free throws on a foul, immediately followed by Jared Billups of Siena making a layup to keep their distance. The majority of points for the first nine minutes of the half were scored by free throws for the Pirates (9-of-12) and by layups for the Saints (4-of-6).

After McCollum made the Saints’ only three-pointer of the half to be up 50-42 with 10:41 left, the Pirates slowly started to crawl back into the competition. With Samuel and graduate guard Jamir Harris each making layups, Jackson making two from the line, and Dawes hitting what would be the Pirates’ only three of the game, they were suddenly up 51-50 with 5:52 remaining.

A foul on KC Ndefo sent McCollum to the line to make one of two, tying the game at 51, breaking the Saints’ 5:44-long scoring drought, and making the fight for 3rd Place a lot more interesting.

Dawes responded to Siena’s Jayce Johnson’s two made free throws with a layup as the time whittled down. Harris could not make two of his own from the line after Johnson fouled him, and Jackson Stormo put the Saints ahead 55-53 on a jumper with 2:19 remaining.

A series of misses, steals, and turnovers on both sides kept the score the same until the last 19 seconds, when a foul on Dawes gave Siena a three-point lead. Dawes was fouled in turn to make two from the line, but a foul from freshman forward Tae Davis got McCollum to keep a three-point distance at 58-55 in the final six seconds.

The Pirates attempted to tie it with possession, but a critical turnover by Dawes allowed one last dunk by Michael Eley on the opposite end to seal an embarrassing loss as the clock ran out.

McCollum led the Saints with 14 points, one rebound, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Senior guard Jayce Johnson backed him up with 11 points, nine rebounds and one block. Senior forward Jackson Stormo and Freshman guard Michael Eley each scored 10 points and four rebounds for the Saints, while Eley also had four steals and one block.

For the Pirates, Dawes led with a game-high 15 points, as well as three rebounds and one steal, but four turnovers for the second game in a row.

Samuel followed with 14 points, seven rebounds, and one steal. Jackson had eight points and one rebound, while junior guard Femi Odukale had six points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal.

 

This was a game where each team had seemingly countless misses and blunders, but the Saints made slightly less. While the Pirates struggled in every category, shooting only 17-of-52 on the field (32.7%), a staggering 1-of-9 from deep (11.1%), and a disappointing 20-of-32 from the line (62.5%), Siena just did marginally better. The Saints made 21-of-49 on the field (42.9%), 2-of-16 from behind the arc (12.5%), and 16-of-23 at the line (69.6%).

Simply put, while the Saints were cold, the Pirates were even colder.

There is not a lot to say other than that the team’s inability to make layups or jumpers against a team with guys of the same height—not to mention getting blocked twice by a 6-foot-2 tall McCollum—or the consistency of free throws down the stretch, made this the Pirates’ most frustrating loss thus far.

The insane, buzzer-beating win over Memphis on Thanksgiving should have propelled them to an easy weekend championship at the ESPN Events Invitational, clearing what should have been the toughest competition from their field.

Instead, they fumbled a perfect opportunity to beat three quality opponents in a row and add to their resume heading into the final stretch of their nonconference season.

Even worse, the Pirates have a very quick turnaround before they head off to Lawrence, Kan. next week to take on the biggest challenge any team can have in their nonconference schedule. They will face none other than the reigning national champions, the University of Kansas Jayhawks, for the Big East-Big 12 Battle.

Joe Matthews and Jonathan Heite will once again be on the call on Thursday at 9 p.m. EST when the Pirates take on the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse. Remember to tune into 89.5 FM WSOU when live coverage will begin at 8:45 p.m. EST.

Andrew Raccuglia can be reached at andrew.raccuglia@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Men's Basketball

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