McKnight, Pirates Cruise to Victory Over UNH

Tuesday, December 4

Newark, N.J.

6:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

New Hampshire

Seton Hall

12/4/2018 8:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX (PDF)

NEWARK, N.J. – Junior Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) led five players in double-figures scoring with a season-high 18 points as the Seton Hall men's basketball team picked up a 77-57 victory over New Hampshire on Tuesday night at Prudential Center, the 1,500th victory in program history and Kevin Willard's 200th career win as a head coach.

Willard also earned his 155th win as Seton Hall head coach, moving him past the legendary Bill Raftery for fourth place in program history.

McKnight finished 5-of-11 shooting to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) earned his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. He also added three assists, two blocks and two steals.

Sophomore Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) finished with 14 points, senior Michael Nzei (Makurdi, Nigeria) poured in 11, and junior Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) scored 10 to round out the five Pirates in double-figure scoring.

After the win we presented Coach Willard with a Jersey to honor his 200th career win as a head coach! #HALLin pic.twitter.com/w2WYnhG43H
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 5, 2018

Turning Point

Cale and McKnight combined for 12 of the team's first 14 points and went 3-for-3 from long range in the opening five minutes as the Pirates jumped out to a 14-6 lead.

Seton Hall led 31-19 at the break, and by 14 points early in the second half. However, a 7-0 New Hampshire run made it a 35-28 Seton Hall advantage with 15:38 remaining. The seven-point margin was as close as the Wildcats would get.

The Pirates responded with a 17-5 run over the next 5:39 to take a 52-35 lead with 9:59 remaining, and kept New Hampshire at arm's length the rest of the contest. Seton Hall led by as many as 26 after freshman Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) flushed an alley-oop with under a minute to go.

Inside the Numbers

Mamukelashvili finished with his first career double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds). It was the first double-dip for any Pirate this season and first since Angel Delgado had 24 points and 23 rebounds against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament.
On top of McKnight's 18 points, he was equally impressive on the defensive end with a pair of steals and five rebounds. He also drew five fouls and committed just one in 31 minutes.
Seton Hall outscored New Hampshire, 38-8 in the paint and 15-1 on the fast break.
The Pirates shot 54.8 percent (17-of-31) in the second half and 47.4 percent (27-of-57) overall.
New Hampshire shot just 30.4 percent (10-of-26) in the opening frame and 37.5 percent (21-of-56) overall.
The Pirates finished with 15 assists and 10 turnovers, the fifth-straight game with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.

News & Notes

Head coach Kevin Willard earned his 155th victory at Seton Hall, passing the legendary Bill Raftery (1970-81, 154 wins) on the Pirates' all-time leaderboard. It was also Willard's 200th overall victory in his head coaching career.
Tuesday marked the 1,500th victory in program history for Seton Hall.
The Pirates limited New Hampshire to just 19 first-half points, the fewest in a half since the Pirates also allowed 19 to USF in the opening frame on Dec. 22, 2015.
Seton Hall improves to 3-0 in the all-time series with New Hampshire. The two programs had not met prior to Tuesday since Dec. 28, 1995.
The Pirates are now 69-8 in their last 77 contests dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season when holding a lead of seven or more at any point in the contest.
With 10 points, Powell moved into 40th on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list with 1,058 career points. He is also now eighth in career three point field goals with 184, passing his former coach Shaheen Holloway (1996-00) on Tuesday night.

Up Next

New York City is Seton Hall's next destination as the Pirates take on No. 9 Kentucky in the Citi Hoops Classic at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 12 p.m. on FOX. The game can be streamed live on the FOX Sports GO app, and Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin with have the call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.

Tickets to the Citi Hoops Classic are available at Ticketmaster.