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PISCATAWAY, N.J. With the scored tied at 68 with under two minutes remaining in the second overtime, Rutgers hit six free throws, while Seton Hall could only muster a driving lay-up by freshman Eugene Harvey, and went on to defeat the Pirates, 74-70, to even the season series at one a piece.
Despite a lackluster first half for both teams, the action picked up in the second half and overtime sessions of a game that saw 20 lead changes and 13 ties. It was Seton Hall’s first double-overtime game since a victory over Pittsburgh on Feb. 9, 2004.
Seton Hall (11-9, 3-5) was led by Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who scored a game-high 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists in 46 minutes of action. Sophomore Paul Gause (Pittsgrove, N.J.) had a remarkable game in only his fourth start of the season. He finished with 18 points, six rebounds and two steals and was the driving force for the Pirates in the overtime sessions.
Late in the second half, Seton Hall matched their largest lead of the night on a lay-up by senior Stan Gaines (Chicago, Ill.), making the score 51-46 with only 1:22 left in regulation. But a free throw by Anthony Farmer, cut the lead to four and with only 29 second remaining, JR Inman hit a three-pointer at the top of the key to bring the Scarlet Knights to within one. Junior Brian Laing (Bronx, N.Y.) hit two free throws with 27 second left, which extended the Pirates’ lead to three, 53-50. But with only 19 seconds remaining, JR Inman struck again with another three-pointer, which tied the game at 53. Eugene Harvey couldn’t get his final shot to go on the Pirates’ possession and the game went into overtime.
Neither team grabbed a lead greater than three points in the first extra frame. With the Scarlet Knights leading 61-60, Brian Laing was fouled by JR Inman with only seven seconds left. Laing hit his first free throw, but couldn’t capitalize on the second and the game went into double-overtime.
The Pirates kept the game close, but Rutgers was able to capitalize on free throws in the final minutes of the second extra session to close out Seton Hall.
Free throws were the box score story in this one. Rutgers went to the line a remarkable 42 times, while Seton Hall had only 12 attempts. The Pirates were out-rebounded 54-to-40 and out-shot minimally, 37.0 percent to 35.5 percent.
Paul Gause scored eight of his 18 points in the overtime periods including both of his steals.
Senior Adrian Hill had a monster game for Rutgers (9-12, 2-6) scoring a team-high 18 points and a mind-boggling 19 rebounds the most scored by a Scarlet Knight since Dec. 6, 1989. Five players scored in double-figures for Rutgers in all.
Seton Hall will return home on Monday, January 19 to take on non-conference Princeton. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 973-275-HALL.
