Seton Hall University
20-14
Wofford
30-4
The Hall's Second Half Surge Not Enough vs. Wofford
3/22/2019 2:29:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jacksonville, Fla. – The Seton Hall men's basketball team erased a 10-point halftime deficit midway through the second half and held a 60-59 lead with 7:48 to go, but 27 points from junior Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) could not overcome the late-game hot shooting of No. 19 ranked Wofford as the Pirates fell to the Terriers, 84-68, in the NCAA Tournament First Round at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena on Thursday night.
Powell scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half, and drained four three-pointers. Overall, he shot 10-for-25 from the field and 4-for-11 from long range. He also added three assists and three rebounds. Sophomore Sandro Mamukelshvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two assists. Junior Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) totaled six points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Wofford was led by Fletcher Magee, who scored 24 points on 7-for-12 shooting from long distance.
The Pirates conclude their 2018-19 season with a program-record fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth consecutive 20-win season. Seton Hall was picked eighth in the BIG EAST preseason poll, but finished tied for third in the regular season, and reached the conference championship game.
Turning Point
The Pirates trailed 40-30 at halftime, and trailed by 13 with 16:06 remaining. With 13:45 left, Wofford held a 53-42 lead after Magee canned a triple that forced a Seton Hall timeout.
After the break, Powell responded with a three, and sparked a 12-0 run for The Hall that put them on top 54-53 with 10:50 remaining. All 12 points during the run were scored by Powell including threes on consecutive possessions to give the Pirates the lead.
Each team traded blows down the stretch, and it was a one-point game at 67-66 after a Powell free-throw with 4:36 remaining.
Wofford then connected on three-pointers in each of its next three possessions while holding the Pirates scoreless. In a span of 1:07 the Pirates went from trailing by one, to trailing by 10 with 3:12 remaining. Magee had the back-breaker on a corner step-back three to make it 76-66. The Terriers then kept Seton Hall at bay in the final minutes, closing the game on a 17-2 run.
Inside the Numbers
- The Pirates shot 40.3 percent from the field (25-for-62) overall, 33.3 percent from three (9-for-27) and 60 percent at the line (9-for-15), while Wofford shot 48.1 percent overall (26-for-54), 46.4 percent from three (13-for-28) and 82.6 percent at the line (19-for-23).
- Seton Hall held a 32-26 rebounding advantage including an 11-6 edge on the offensive glass, however, Wofford took better advantage in second chance opportunities. The Terriers had a 16-8 lead in second chance points.
- The Terriers finished with 11 assists to nine turnovers, while The Pirates registered 12 assists and 13 turnovers.
- In the paint, The Pirates out-scored Wofford 26-18, but The Terriers scored 22 points off turnovers while Seton Hall had just five.
- The Hall out-scored Wofford 24-3 on the fast break and 16-9 off the bench.
- Powell recorded his 23rd game of 20 points or more this season, finishing with 27. He scored 23 of the 27 in the second half. Overall he was 10-for-25 from the field.
News & Notes
- This was Seton Hall's first-ever meeting against Wofford and first game against a member of the Southern Conference since 2014. The Pirates are now 12-3 all-time against teams in the SoCon at the time of the game.
- Seton Hall's all-time NCAA Tournament record is now 16-13. Of The Hall's 13 NCAA appearances, this is the fifth time that the Pirates have failed to escape the first round.
- The Pirates are now 2-4 all-time when seeded No. 10 and 1-4 all-time against a No. 7 seed.
- The Pirates finish the season 4-4 against Associated Press top-25 teams.
- Powell finished the season with 784 points, the fourth-most in a single-season by any Pirate in program history and the most in the school's BIG EAST era (1979-present).
- Powell also passed Nick Galis (1975-79) and former teammate Desi Rodriguez (2014-18) for 12th all-time in Seton Hall scoring history. He now has 1,663 points.
- With an average of 23.1 points per game, Powell is the first Pirate since Jeremy Hazell in 2009 to finish in the top 20 in the nation in scoring.
- Senior Michael Nzei (Makurdi, Nigeria), the 2019 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year, caps his accomplished career with 135 games played, the most in program history. He also finishes his career with exactly 700 points, good for 80th in program history.
- Nzei was part of 88 wins during his Seton Hall career, tied for the third-most by any Pirate in school history. He is also one of only four Pirates to have four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
