Seton Hall University
Providence
MBB Falls at Providence, 76-66
3/6/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Junior Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) led the Pirates with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Providence (17-12, 9-8) scored the first five points of the game, but the Pirates responded with an 8-0 run highlighted by three-pointers from Edwin and Kyle Smyth (River Edge, N.J.) to give them an early 8-5 lead.
Eugene Teague (Vineland, N.J.) got hot and scored five straight points for Seton Hall. His free-throw with 11:15 left in the first half tied the game at 17. Providence however, responded with a 10-0 run and Kadeem Batts' put-back gave the Friars a 27-17 advantage. In a game of runs, Seton Hall immediately answered with a 10-1 run highlighted by a three-point play from Aaron Cosby (Louisville, Ky.) and another three-pointer by Smyth to cut the Friars lead to 28-27 with 5:44 left before halftime.
The Friars closed the first half on a 9-3 run to take a 43-36 lead into the locker room.
A jumper by Providence's Bryce Cotton extended their lead to 55-44 with 12:59 to play. Three minutes later, Teague completed a three-point play and Cosby connected on a pair of free-throws to cut the Friars lead to 59-54. But Providence responded with eight straight points, and a free-throw by Batts gave the Friars a commanding 67-54 lead with 5:32 remaining.
Seton Hall (14-16, 3-14) would cut the margin to seven points with 2:50 left, but that's the closest the Pirates would get the rest of the way.
The Pirates had a decent night from the field, out-shooting the Friars, 42.9%-to-40.9%. They were also an impressive 8-for-18 (.444) from three-point range. Smyth was 3-for-4 from behind the arc and finished with 11 points.
Kadeem Batts led Providence with 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Seton Hall will return to action for its regular season finale on Friday, March 8 when its hosts Rutgers at the Prudential Center. Game-time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
