Seton Hall's Defense Clamps Down to Beat DePaul in BIG EAST Opener

Monday, December 30

Chicago, Ill.

8:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

9-4,1-0Big East

DePaul

12-2,0-1Big East

Seton Hall

DePaul

Seton Hall's Defense Clamps Down to Beat DePaul in BIG EAST Opener

12/30/2019 11:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

CHICAGO - Senior All-America candidate Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) returned from a two-game absence to score 27 points, and the Seton Hall men's basketball team's defense locked down to hold DePaul to nine points in the final 10 minutes of the game to defeat the Blue Demons, 74-66, Monday night in the BIG EAST opener at Wintrust Arena.

Seton Hall has now opened conference play 1-0 for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons and moves to 9-4 overall, picking up a third NET "Quad One" victory in the process.

Seton Hall's defensive success was in large part due to seniors Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.), who locked down DePaul's star guard Charlie Moore, and Romaro Gill (St. Thomas, Jamaica), who had four second-half blocks.

Turning Point
Seton Hall trailed for the majority of the game, including a 10-point deficit late in the first half, but the Pirates kept battling, starting with a 15-5 run, anchored by seven points from junior Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) early in the second half to take a three-point lead, 48-45.

DePaul reclaimed a five-point lead, 55-50, with 11:19 to go, but once the Pirates tied it back up again, it was back and forth until with 2:18 to go Powell drew a foul in the act of shooting a three. He swished all three free throw attempts, the Pirates got a stop on defense on the ensuing possession and then McKnight found Gill for an easy to dunk to put the Pirates up four, 70-66.

After a DePaul timeout with 1:36 remaining, Gill stepped up and blocked a layup attempt, and Cale put the Pirates up six with a layup on the other end. DePaul again came up empty on its next possession as the Pirates forced a held ball, and Gill turned in a fourth rejection with 22 seconds to go to ice the win for the Pirates.

DePaul didn't score in the final 2:36 and went 0-for-7 from the field in the final minutes.

1⃣-0⃣ #HALLin

Presented by @LifeStorage pic.twitter.com/2pTek3FaG5
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 31, 2019

Inside the Numbers

Seton Hall shot 46 percent for the game (23-for-50), 35 percent from three (7-for-20) and 70 percent from the free throw line (21-for-30). DePaul shot 34.4 percent overall (22-for-64), 23.8 percent from downtown (5-for-21) and 85 percent at the line (17-for-20).
The Pirates really clamped down in the second half, holding the Blue Demons to 27.3 percent shooting (9-for-33).
Although Seton Hall committed more turnovers than DePaul, 17-14, the Pirates did a better job capitalizing, scoring 24 points off DePaul's 14 giveaways. The Blue Demons only had 12 points off The Hall's turnovers.
The Hall finished with 14 assists on its 23 made field goals.
The Pirates blocked seven shots on the night and came into the game averaging six per contest.
Powell scored 27 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and 11-of-15 shooting at the free throw line. He also had five rebounds and five steals.
Cale was excellent on the evening with 16 points on 6-of-9 from the field while also grabbing six rebounds.
Sophomore Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) contributed 10 points despite dealing with second-half foul trouble.
McKnight had seven assists against just two turnovers while also playing outstanding defense on DePaul's Charlie Moore, limiting him to 4-of-15 shooting.
Gill had six points and four blocks, the fifth time this season he's blocked at least four in a game.

We close out 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣9️⃣ the right way 👌#HALLin pic.twitter.com/eT8UHE0X4M
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 31, 2019

News & Notes

Seton Hall is now 17-8 all-time against DePaul with wins in seven of the last nine meetings.
The Pirates are now 8-2 in their BIG EAST opening games under head coach Kevin Willard.
This game was considered a NET "Quad One" game, and the Pirates now have played the most Quad One games in the nation so far with seven. They are 3-4 in such games (wins at Saint Louis & DePaul, home vs. Maryland).
Powell eclipsed 1,900 points for his career and stands at 1,902, just five away from passing Mark Bryant (1984-88) for sixth all-time in Seton Hall history.
This was Seton Hall's fourth win of the season when trailing at halftime, and the 10-point deficit against DePaul was the team's highest overcome for a win this season.

Up Next
Seton Hall will continue the 18-game BIG EAST grind with a Friday night home contest against Georgetown at Prudential Center. The 9 p.m. game will air on FS1 with Brian Custer and Len Elmore on the call. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will announce it on the radio on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.