Seton Hall University
Kentucky
Pirates Outlast No. 9 UK After Cale's OT Game-Winner
12/8/2018 4:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Junior Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) scored 25 of his team-high 28 points in the second half and overtime, and sophomore Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) drilled the game-winning three-pointer with 9.5 seconds remaining as the Seton Hall men's basketball team took down No. 9 Kentucky, 84-83, Saturday afternoon in front of 10,244 at Madison Square Garden in the Citi Hoops Classic.
The mere fact that the game went to overtime was a result of Kentucky's Keldon Johnson hitting a buzzer-beating half court shot at the end of regulation to counter Powell's three-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining that had put The Hall in front 70-67.
The win is the first for the Seton Hall program over an AP top-10 team during the non-conference regular season since defeating No. 6 Ohio State on Jan. 26, 1992.
Powell, who was only 1-for-4 from the field in the first half and was 2-for-8 part-way through the second half, finished the game making seven of his last eight attempts. Cale finished with a career-high 17 points.
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THAT'S WHAT WE DO!!!!! #HALLin pic.twitter.com/Ug4oiEaNuW
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GARDEN MAGIC.#HALLin
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Wait...did that really just happen? #PiratesWin #GardenParty #HALLin pic.twitter.com/EMAUBh57ed
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Turning Point
This was a wild game that was incredibly defensive in the first half that included at one point both teams combining for an 0-for-22 stretch from the field. Kentucky took a 31-25 lead into halftime and led by as many as eight in the second half, but the Pirates took every Wildcats punch and punched back.
Five straight points from Cale followed by a senior Michael Nzei (Makurdi, Nigeria) layup tied the game up at 39-39 and it was see-saw from there the rest of the game.
Kentucky took a 67-64 lead with 1:48 remaining, but the Pirates kept fighting on defense to force a turnover, and Powell got the ball with 1:13 left and hit an off-balance three-pointer to tie it up again, 67-67. The teams traded empty possessions, and after Kentucky missed a three with 29 seconds left, the Pirates got the ball to hold for a final shot.
The Hall put the ball in Powell's hands and with 1.5 seconds remaining, he again nailed an off-balance three from the far wing to make it 70-67 Pirates and send fans into a tizzy.
The game proved not to be over as Kentucky inbounded the ball to the middle of the court. Johnson took one dribble and got a great look at the half court heave, and it found the bottom of the net at the buzzer to tie the game and stun the Madison Square Garden crowd.
With three players already fouled out of the game, Seton Hall persevered. Freshman Anthony Nelson (New York, N.Y.) and junior Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) made back-to-back layups to open overtime and put the Pirates up four, 74-70. The lead would go back to four when Powell buried yet another three with 1:35 to go, making it 81-77.
Kentucky once again found another life as Ashton Hagans hit a layup to make it 81-79, the Pirates missed a shot, and Johnson drained a three to put UK back on to, 82-81. After another empty Seton Hall possession, a foul on Nelson sent Hagans to the free throw line, and he sank one of two to make it 83-81, Wildcats.
That set it up for the finale. McKnight dribbled from the far corner into the paint with no luck, but he then found sophomore Taurean Thompson (New York, N.Y.) at the top of the key. Thompson pump-faked his defender, dribbled in and then passed to Cale to the right. Cale then pump-faked his defender to free himself up, and he drilled the three with 9.5 seconds to go and put the Pirates on top 84-83.
On the other end, Seton Hall's defense forced an off-balance three-point attempt that airballed at the buzzer, and the Pirates completed the incredible win.
Inside the Numbers
- Seton Hall shot 45.8 percent (27-for-59) overall, 42.3 percent (11-for-26) from three and 73.1 percent (19-for-26) at the free throw line. Kentucky was 43.5 percent (27-for-62) overall, 25 percent (5-for-20) from behind the arc and 80 percent (24-for-30) from the charity stripe.
- Seton Hall was out-rebounded, 39-35, and Kentucky outscored the Pirates in the paint, 42-30.
- Seton Hall committed 16 turnovers, and Kentucky committed 15. The Pirates scored 17 points off turnovers compared to Kentucky's 14.
- Powell was phenomenal, scoring 25 of his 28 points in the second half and overtime after starting the game only 2-for-8 from the field. He finished 9-for-16 and 6-for-11 from three. He also had four assists.
- Cale had a career-high 17 points, with the last three mattering the most. He was only 4-for-18 from the field, but he was 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
- McKnight was solid once again with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He had five assists and four steals.
- Thompson delivered 25 big minutes off the bench for the Pirates, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, two steals, two assists and a block. He had the assist to Cale for the game-winner.
- Despite fouling out, sophomore Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) also was a factor with three points, eight rebounds and three assists.
- PJ Washington led Kentucky with 29 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
News & Notes
- This was only the third all-time meeting between Seton Hall and Kentucky and the first since 1988. The Pirates now lead the all-time series, 2-1. The previous win was a Great Alaska Shootout victory.
- For the program, this is the Pirates' first win over an AP top-10 ranked team during the non-conference regular season since topping No. 6 Ohio State on Jan. 26, 1992.
- This is Seton Hall's fourth straight victory against an AP ranked team during the non-conference regular season and three of them occurred at Madison Square Garden:
- Dec. 12, 2016 vs. No. 16 South Carolina
- Nov. 30, 2017 vs. No. 22 Texas Tech
- Dec. 3, 2017 at No. 17 Louisville
- Dec. 8, 2018 vs. No. 9 Kentucky
- Seton Hall is now 9-3 in its last 12 games played at Madison Square Garden, dating back to the 2015-16 season.
- Head Coach Kevin Willard is now 7-5 against the SEC as Seton Hall's head coach, and he's now faced 10 of the conference's 14 teams (has not faced Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi State or Texas A&M).
- Powell notched his 13th career 20-point game, moved passed former teammate Khadeen Carrington for seventh all-time in three-pointers (192) at Seton Hall and moved passed Anthony Avent, Danny Hurley and Jerry Walker into 37th all-time in Seton Hall scoring history (1,086).
- This was Seton Hall's 121st all-time game to go into overtime. The program is now 63-58 in overtime, including 7-8 at Madison Square Garden and 10-7 under Willard.
Up Next
There is no time to rest because there's a trophy and Garden State pride on the line next Saturday, Dec. 15, when New Jersey's NCAA Tournament team takes on the red team from Piscataway in the fifth installment of the Garden State Hardwood Classic. Tip-off from sold-out Prudential Center is scheduled for 2 p.m., and FS1 will have the national broadcast with Brian Custer and Steve Levin on the call. College basketball's elite radio duo, Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin, will provide coverage on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on XM 380, the Pirate Sports Network and the SHU Pirates Mobile App.
