Seton Hall University
Rutgers
MBB Falls at Rutgers, 57-55
2/13/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Seton Hall men's basketball team rallied from a 10-point deficit with under four minutes remaining, but couldn't take the lead, and eventually fell at Rutgers, 57-55, on Tuesday.
The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Pirates at the Rutgers Athletic Center and is the sixth straight overall this season for the Pirates.
Junior Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) led all scorers with 18 points. He also grabbed six rebounds.
Rutgers (13-10, 4-8) started the game hot, scoring the first eight points on the strength of three-pointers by Eli Carter and Myles Mack. Conversely, Seton Hall made just one of its first 11 shots, and trailed, 11-3, with 13:55 left in the first half.
Brandon Mobley (Savannah, Ga.) connected on a three-pointer to end a Pirates' scoring drought of more than five and a half minutes. His second on consecutive possessions cut the Scarlet Knights lead to four, 13-9, with 10:22 before the half.
Kyle Smyth (River Edge, N.J.) found a slicing Gene Teague (Vineland, N.J.) for a score in the post to tie the game at 18 with 6:25 left before the break, but Rutgers outscored Seton Hall in the closing minutes of the first half to take a 30-25 lead into halftime.
Seton Hall (13-12, 2-10) shot just 30.4% in the first half, compared to 44.0% for Rutgers, but trailed by only five points.
Both teams began the second half shooting better from the field, but it was Rutgers that was able to expand their lead. A 10-0 run fueled by three-pointers from Carter and Dane Miller gave the Scarlet Knights a commanding 47-34 lead with 9:35 remaining in the game.
A three-pointer by Aaron Cosby (Louisville, Ky.) capped a quick 6-0 run to cut the Rutgers lead to 52-46, with 2:32 left. Two minutes later, Smyth's three-pointer with just 23 seconds left cut the RU lead to three, 55-52. Eli Carter missed a layup with 13 seconds left, giving the ball back to Seton Hall with a chance to tie, but Brian Oliver's (Glassboro, N.J.) outlet pass was intercepted by Rutgers' Mike Poole.
Fuquan Edwin hit a long three-pointer from the top of the key with only three seconds left to cut the Rutgers lead to one, 56-55, but Eli Carter hit one of two free-throws, and the Pirates' desperation full-court heave at the buzzer missed the mark.
Seton Hall out-rebounded Rutgers by one, but committed two more turnovers.
Carter finished with 14 points to lead Rutgers.
Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 16 when they host Syracuse. It will be the final BIG EAST Conference game between these charter members. Game-time is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
