Men's Basketball Takes Down Providence, 77-74

Kelly Whitney

PROVIDENCE, R.I.— In a nail-biter game where the lead changed 20 times, the Seton Hall men’s basketball team defeated Providence, 77-74, on Wednesday evening at the Dunkin Donuts Center. The Pirates, on a four-game win streak, improve to 13-6 overall and 4-3 in the BIG EAST, while Providence falls to 9-10 and 2-6 in league play.

The win gives the Hall its third straight road victory; the last time that happened was during the 1978-79 season, when the Pirates won four straight. Kelly Whitney led the way for Seton Hall with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds.

Although senior Donald Copeland missed his first nine shots of the game, he made three huge plays down the stretch. Copeland’s first field goal of the game was a three pointer with 3:35 remaining that cut a four-point PC lead to 69-68. He then added a put back lay-up with 2:40 left to give Seton Hall a 70-69 lead. With the Pirates trailing by one with 1:31 left to play, he hit a left handed bank shot in the lane to put the Pirates up 75-74.

Providence’s Sharaud Curry missed a jumper with 45 seconds remaining and then Geoff McDermott missed two three throws to keep the Hall’s lead at 75-74. Seton Hall gained possession on a Paul Gause rebound, but junior Jamar Nutter turned the ball over with 17 seconds left and Providence had another chance to tie it up. However, Curry missed a jumper with 10 seconds remaining and Grant Billmeier was fouled on the rebound. Billmeier then proceeded to make both free throws to put the Pirates up by three, 77-74. Curry could not connect on a difficult three-pointer as time was running down.

Seton Hall scored the first basket of the game, but Providence led by as many as five during the first half. The Friars led 7-2 with 17:01 remaining in the first half, but the Hall fired back and took a 10-9 lead with 13:13 left. The Pirates and the Friars traded the lead for the remainder of the period, with Whitney scoring 13 of his 20 points in the first half to keep SHU in the game despite Copeland and Nutter combining for two points and zero field goals. Providence led 37-32 at the break.

Nutter came to life in the second half, similar to his heroics last Sunday at Syracuse. He began the second half with a three-pointer from the corner and made several big shots down the stretch. Gause, who was also scoreless in the first half, totaled nine. Billmeier added 10 for the Hall, while Copeland totaled nine, seven of which were in the second half. The Pirates were down a man when Brian Laing did not play the final 18 minutes of the game due to a lower back injury, and Whitney fouled out with just over a minute left in the game.

Providence had four players score in double digits, led by Herbert Hill who tallied 14. Curry scored 13, while McDermott and Donnie McGrath each chipped in with 11.

The Pirates will host BIG EAST rival Rutgers on Sunday, Feb. 5, at Continental Airlines Arena. Tip-off is set for Noon.

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