Seton Hall University
Marquette
MBB Rally Falls Short at Marquette
1/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2014
MILWAUKEE - The Seton Hall men's basketball team's second half surge fell just short as the Pirates dropped a 67-66 decision at Marquette (10-7, 2-2) on Saturday. Brian Oliver (Glassboro, N.J.) scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the second half, while Sterling Gibbs (Scotch Plains, N.J.) had 11 of his 13 points in the final stanza as Seton Hall (10-7, 1-3) rallied almost all the way back from a 16-point deficit.
The Golden Eagles were led by senior forward Jamil Wilson's double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) as Marquette dodged having the fourth longest home win streak (20) in the nation against conference opponents snapped. Junior guard Todd Mayo scored 19 of the Golden Eagles' 31 bench points and shot a perfect 9-for-9 at the free-throw line to help hold off the Pirates.
The Hall experienced its largest deficit 47 seconds into the second half when Davante Gardner sent the Golden Eagles on top 44-28 with a jumper. It was one of his three buckets as the 6-foot-8 big man was limited to six points and five rebounds in 34 minutes of work on the interior.
Jaren Sina (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) sparked the first of a series of second half runs for the Pirates when he answered with a 3-pointer triggering 11-4 flurry. Oliver's tip in at the 13:03 mark capped the surge and brought Seton Hall within single digits of the Golden Eagles since the 3:35 mark in the first half.
Another 9-2 run in the next two minutes got the Pirates as close as five points with 10:51 remaining. Gibbs 3-pointer followed by a traditional three point play 29 seconds later made it a 52-47 contest.
The relentless Pirates kept pushing and cut it to a one possession game (63-60) with 2:03 on the clock after back-to-back 3-pointers from Patrik Auda (Brno, Czech Republic) and Oliver. Oliver's third triple of the game with 23 seconds to go got it to 65-63, but the Pirates simply ran out of time in their comeback bid.
Mayo converted both of his free-throws extending Marquette's lead to four points with 21 seconds. The Hall came up empty on its next trip on the offensive end, leaving only a couple ticks on the clock when the Pirates received possession again. Gibbs half court heave at the buzzer dropped to cap a 40-27 second half scoring advantage for the Hall, but one point short of forcing overtime.
Marquette got off to a fast start and led for the final 17:50 of the first half, a lead it would not relinquish. The Golden Eagles carried a 14-point advantage into the break with Wilson (12) and Mayo (10) each reaching the double digit scoring plateau in the opening stanza. Wilson and Mayo combined to shoot 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from downtown to anchor the Golden Eagles 56% (14-25) shooting effort.
The Pirates early deficit also resulted from shooting 34.8% (8-23) from the field in the first 20 minutes. Stephane Manga (Orleans, France) gave The Hall a lift off the bench scoring all nine of his points over nine minutes in the first half as he shot a perfect 3-for-3 from both the field and free-throw line. It was the third straight game Manga has gone without missing a shot as he is now 10-for-10 from the field in the last three contests.
Seniors Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) and Aaron Geramipoor (Manchester, England) made their return to the lineup after missing four games each this season with injuries. Edwin gave the Pirates seven points and five rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench. His two steals moved him into sole possession of second place on the Seton Hall career list, which brings him only two behind Dan Callandrillo (260) for the program record.
Auda was the third Pirate to finish with double-figures scoring 10 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.
The setback snaps a three-game win streak for the Pirates away from home as they entered the contest with consecutive wins over Virginia Tech (11/23), Rutgers (12/8) and Providence (12/31).
Seton Hall has a week to rest before gearing up next Saturday at Georgetown, its second contest of a three game road stretch. Tip off is slated for 12 p.m. at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. FOX Sports 1 will televise the contest nationally and 970 AM (WNYM) will air the Seton Hall radio broadcast with Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin.
