Seton Hall University
4-2
Miami (FL)
5-1
HALL CHAMPS! Pirates Win 2018 Wooden Legacy Crown
11/26/2018 1:52:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Senior Michael Nzei (Makurdi, Nigeria) and juniors Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) and Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) combined to score 54 points and make 66 percent of their shots, and the Pirates got the stop on defense they needed in the final seconds to knock off Miami and win the 2018 Wooden Legacy Championship Sunday night at Titan Gym.
Powell, who scored 17 points on the night and averaged 25.3 points in the three tournament games, was named the Wooden Legacy's Most Outstanding Player. Nzei scored a career-high 21 points and averaged 13.7 points in the three games to earn All-Tournament honors. McKnight posted 16 points and five assists and averaged 9.3 points and 4.0 assists to earn second-team All-Tournament. Sophomore Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) had nine points on the night and was tournament honorable mention.
Seton Hall (4-2) won its first multi-team exempt (MTE) tournament since the 2014 Paradise Jam and improved to 21-9 in MTE tournaments under head coach Kevin Willard.
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THAT'S WHAT WE DO! #HALLin pic.twitter.com/ufgE2QFibk
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) November 26, 2018
Thanks Coach for leading us to this championship! 💦💦💦💦 #HALLin pic.twitter.com/MWPKhLkMSH
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) November 26, 2018
Full Awards:
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) November 26, 2018
Most Outstanding Player: @Myles_MBP_23
First-Team All-Tournament: @jahsRock
Second-Team All-Tournament: @__AyooQ
Tournament Honorable Mention: @Mamukelashvili5 #HALLin pic.twitter.com/0l9SFO4t9x
Turning Point
This game was tight all night with offense leading the way. After going into halftime tied 45-45, the Pirates grabbed a seven-point lead after an 11-3 run that included three-pointers from McKnight and Powell and a Powell three-point play at 6:22 to make it 80-73.
Miami would not be deterred, fighting back with a pair of Anthony Lawrence buckets before McKnight made a tough layup in the paint at 4:48 to give the Pirates the 82-77 edge.
That was Seton Hall's final field goal of the game, but while the Pirates went cold on offense, they made Miami work for shot attempts. In the final 4:32, the Hurricanes went 1-for-5 from the field with three turnovers.
With Seton Hall clinging to the 82-81 lead, Miami had a chance at the final shot, gaining possession with 16 seconds to go. The Hurricanes put the ball in Lawrence's hands; his three-pointer from the wing hit rim, and sophomore Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) soared to the sky to pull down the rebound and draw a foul with under a second to play. Cale made a free throw and then intentionally missed the second to help run out the clock and begin the championship celebration.
Inside the Numbers
- Seton Hall shot 52.3 percent for the game, making 34 of 65 field goal attempts, though the team struggled from behind the arc at 6-for-23 (26.1 percent). The Pirates were also 9-for-14 at the free throw line (64.3 percent).
- Miami was 30-for-55 from the field (54.5 percent), 7-for-20 from three (35.0 percent) and 14-for-18 at the free throw line (77.8 percent).
- While the Pirates weren't perfect from behind the arc, they were dominant in the paint, outscoring the Hurricanes down low, 56-34.
- Seton Hall out-rebounded Miami, 30-29, and limited the Hurricanes to four offensive rebounds and just five second chance points.
- Though the game was high scoring, Seton Hall's defense did enough by turning Miami over 16 times and getting 19 points off the giveaways.
- The Pirates had 15 assists on 34 field goals.
- Nzei had a career night, scoring 21 points and making all eight of his field goal attempts and going 5-for-7 at the free throw line.
- Powell scored 17 points and was 6-for-15 from the field.
- McKnight had an outstanding performance with 16 points on 7-of-9 from the field and five assists. He finished the tournament with just one turnover in 91 minutes played in the tournament.
- Freshman Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) had his best game to date with eight points and four rebounds.
- This game featured 12 ties and 16 lead changes.
News & Notes
- Seton Hall won its first MTE championship since the 2014 Paradise Jam and won its first ESPN Events championship. The Pirates are now 21-9 under head coach Kevin Willard in MTE games, 2-1 in championship games.
- All-time in ESPN Events games, Seton Hall is 12-8.
- This was the first meeting between Seton Hall and Miami since 2004 when both programs were in the BIG EAST. The Pirates now lead the all-time series 16-8.
- The Pirates are now 6-1 against ACC opponents in Willard's tenure, three of the wins coming in the last calendar year.
- Seton Hall had a seven-point lead with 6:22 remaining, its largest lead of the game, which means the program is now 68-7 in its last 75 games when holding a lead of seven or more at any juncture of the contest.
Up Next
Seton Hall will bring its trophy back to South Orange and then get ready for another ACC opponent as the Pirates welcome Louisville to Prudential Center Saturday at noon in a game that will be televised on FOX. The tenacious tandem of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network. Tickets to the game are available at SHUPirates.com/SHUvsUL.
Seton Hall students should prepare to get up early before the Louisville game as the athletics department is hosting Morning Madness inside Walsh Gymnasium from 8:15-10 a.m., when one lucky student will win $1,000 cash, and another student will have a chance to win $50,000. All student attendees to Morning Madness will get priority access to the buses to Prudential Center.
