Men's Basketball Edges Cincinnati, 64-61

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NEWARK, N.J. - The Seton Hall men's basketball team won its fourth straight after topping Cincinnati, 64-61, at Prudential Center. The Pirates improved to 14-6 overall and 4-3 in the BIG EAST on the strength of 53.8 percent shooting from downtown.

Seniors Brian Laing (Bronx, N.Y.) and Jamar Nutter (Bloomfield, N.J.) continued their strong play against the Bearcats (9-11, 4-4). Laing scored 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Nutter had 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor.

Sophomore Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) handed out seven assists.

Cincinnati jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead, but Nutter connected on consecutive three's to put Seton Hall on the scoreboard with 15:09 in the half. After a flurry of trey's from both teams, junior Augustine Okosun (Benin City, Nigeria) found Laing on the wing behind the three-point line to put the Pirates on top, 26-24, with 7:07 left.

The Bearcats took the lead back on a jumper from Adam Hrycaniuk, but Seton Hall ended the half on an 8-0 spurt and took a 36-30 edge to the locker room.

Cincinnati held the Pirates to just one field goal over a 6:25 stretch to cut the deficit to one, and tied the game, 53-53, on a triple by Deonta Vaughn with 6:51 left.

Laing answered with a three of his own to put the Pirates back on top, and the teams traded baskets over the next several minutes with the Pirates clinging to a small advantage.

With 1:18 remaining, Laing scored a layup off a feed from John Garcia (Brentwood, N.Y.) to extend the lead to 62-59. Vaughn missed a jumper on the other end, and Seton Hall hit 2-of-4 free-throws to preserve the win.

Vaughn led the Bearcats with 15 points and added four assists.

The Pirates return to action on Wednesday, January 30, at Rutgers for a 9:00 p.m. tilt.