Seton Hall University
13-4,5-0Big East
Butler
15-2,3-1Big East
More Hinkle Magic! No. 18 Pirates Rally to Beat No. 5 Butler
1/15/2020 9:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
For the fourth straight year, Seton Hall men's basketball had a double-digit second half deficit at Butler, and for the fourth straight year, the Pirates clawed back. And now for the third time when the final buzzer sounded, the Pirates came out on top. Senior All-America candidate Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) hit a huge three-pointer with 3:12 remaining, sophomore Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y) hit the dagger three late and the No. 18 Pirates ended the game on a 13-4 run to stun No. 5 Butler, 78-70, Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Pirates, winners of seven in a row overall, are now the lone unbeaten team in the BIG EAST at 5-0.
Powell finished with a game-high 29 points to lead the way. Senior Romaro Gill (St. Thomas, Jamaica) scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half to spearhead the comeback. Senior Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) finished with 11 points and a career-high 13 assists to record his second double-double. Rhoden had 13 points and eight boards.
In 2017, Seton Hall trailed at Butler by 10 with 7:03 remaining and came back to win. In 2018, the Pirates trailed at Butler by 11 with 9:57 to go and came back to win. In 2019, the Pirates were down by 17 with 6:48 remaining, tied the game but lost on a last-second goaltending.
We tried to tell you about second halves at Hinkle.
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) January 16, 2020
It's. What. We. Do. 😤#HALLin pic.twitter.com/2Bq3aGw1KY
Turning Point
After leading by nine early and then trailing by 10 at halftime, 40-30, the Pirates stayed calm and re-lived years past. They started getting the ball to Gill and a 7-2 run made it a five-point game before the first media timeout. The Gill dunk show continued with alley oops, including an and-one with 15:26 to go.
Seton Hall kept chipping away and took its first lead of the second half at 8:16 when McKnight fed Powell at the top of the key for a triple to make it 58-57. The Pirates got up as much as six with 5:36 to go on the strength of a Powell layup and three free throws and two huge Rhoden free throws.
Butler battled back and reclaimed the lead at the under-four media timeout as Kamar Baldwin came up with a steal, and Sean McDermott hit a layup and the foul. His free throw made it 66-65.
But the Pirates were quick to the task as Rhoden hit a pair of free throws, Butler committed an unforced turnover near midcourt, and Powell buried a huge three, again on a pass from McKnight, to put The Hall up 70-66 with 3:12 to go.
With 46 seconds to play, Seton Hall was up two, 70-68, and had to inbound the ball with two seconds on the shot clock. Butler hugged Powell, but Rhoden shook free on the wing and connected on the last-second three-point dagger, putting the Pirates up five. Rhoden then punctuated things when a long rebound created a fast break opportunity, receiving the pass from McKnight and slamming it home.
The highlights you need from win number 7️⃣ in a row for the Pirates!
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) January 16, 2020
🎥 from @FS1
🎙 @TimBrando & @NickBahe#HALLin pic.twitter.com/7HJWO3zs5v
Inside the Numbers
- Seton Hall shot 41.4 percent for the game (24-for-58), 29 percent from three (9-for-31) and a season-high 84 percent at the free throw line (21-for-25). Butler shot 42.1 percent for the game (24-for-57), 28.6 percent from downtown (6-for-21) and 84.2 percent at the charity stripe (16-for-19).
- The Pirates committed only nine turnovers on the night, though Butler did score 17 points off those giveaways. The Hall forced 11 Bulldog turnovers and turned those into 15 points.
- Seton Hall had 18 assists on its 24 made field goals, including 11 assists on 13 made field goals in the second half.
- Powell scored 29 points on 9-of-23 from the field. It was his third straight 20-point effort. He also had seven rebounds and two assists.
- Gill was a monster in the second half with 17 points on 6-of-7 from the field and 5-of-6 at the line with three massive dunks. The 17 points match his career high.
- McKnight was phenomenal with 11 points and a career-high 13 assists against just one turnover. He also had seven boards. The 13 assists were the most by a Seton Hall Pirate since Jordan Theodore and 13 vs. Providence on March 6, 2012.
- Rhoden had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
- The game featured four ties and eight lead changes.
News & Notes
- This was Seton Hall's seventh straight win, marking the fourth time its occurred under head coach Kevin Willard.
- This is only the second time in program history the Pirates have beaten a top-five AP ranked team on the road. The only other occasion was a Feb. 7, 2000 win at No. 4 Syracuse.
- This is the first time Seton Hall has ever started BIG EAST play 5-0 overall and 3-0 in road games.
- Dating back to last season, the Pirates have won seven straight BIG EAST conference games. Only the 1992-93 and 2002-03 teams have ever won more conference games in a row with eight.
- Seton Hall is now 6-9 all-time against Butler and has won three of the last four meetings at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
- This was Willard's 23rd win over an Associated Press ranked team.
- This was only the 43rd time ever Seton Hall was in a "Ranked vs. Ranked" game, and the Pirates are now 21-22 in those contests.
- Powell surpassed Andre McCloud (1982-86) and Dan Callandrillo (1978-82) for fifth all-time in Seton Hall scoring history. He now has 1,993 points.
- Seton Hall is the first team this season to score 70 on Butler, which hadn't given up more than 67 in its first 16 games.
- Since Powell's freshman year, The Hall has now won 13 true road games when the attendance is over 8,500.
Up Next
Seton Hall will now head to Madison Square Garden for a Saturday matinee against St. John's. Tip time is noon, and the game will air on FOX with Tim Brando and Jim Spanarkel. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.
