Gill, Defense Fuel Pirates Over Providence, 73-64

Wednesday, January 22

Newark, N.J.

8:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

15-4,7-0Big East

Providence

11-9,4-3Big East

Providence

Seton Hall

1/22/2020 10:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (PDF)

NEWARK, N.J. – Senior Romaro Gill (St. Thomas, Jamaica) matched his career-high of 17 points and set a career best with eight blocks as the Seton Hall men's basketball team defeated Providence, 73-64, at Prudential Center on Wednesday for its ninth straight victory.

Gill continues to make a case for BIG EAST Most Improved Player, scoring in double-figures for a sixth straight game after only scoring in double figures once in 40 career games prior. The eight blocks he had are tied for fifth-most in Seton Hall single-game history and set a Prudential Center record.

Sophomore Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) finished with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor and collected a team-high eight rebounds. Senior All-America candidate Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) had 15 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Senior Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) was a fourth Pirate to reach double-figures in scoring. He had 11 points and a team-high eight assists.

What Happened:
Seton Hall used a 9-2 run only minutes into the game to assume control early. Back-to-back dunks by Gill off lobs by McKnight sent the crowd into a frenzy and put the Pirates up, 22-16 with 9:02 to go before the break.

Trailing 26-19, Providence went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 27-26, with 4:56 remaining before halftime. Down 32-30, the Pirates scored a quick six points in the final 2:27 of the first half, and a three-pointer by junior Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) with 10 seconds to go sent them into the locker room up, 36-32.

Out of the break, Seton Hall upped its run to 11 straight points, and a three-pointer by McKnight gave The Hall a 41-32 lead less than two minutes in. Providence however, methodically chipped away at the Pirate lead and cut its deficit to three on three separate occasions. Possessing a 55-52 advantage, The Hall went on an 8-2 run to take a 63-54 lead with 5:56 left to play.

Providence cut its deficit to as few as five points down the stretch, but couldn't get closer as the Pirates sealed the victory on the free-throw line.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 26-for-45 (57.8%) from the floor for the game, while Providence was 23-for-64 (35.9%). The Hall was 3-for-13 (23.1%) from three-point range, while the Friars were 4-for-24 (16.7%).
Providence out-rebounded The Hall, 33-to-27, which included a 19-to-7 edge in offensive rebounds and a 21-to-8 advantage in second chance points.
Seton Hall was 18-for-25 (72.0%) from the free-throw line, while the Friars were 14-for-16 (87.5%).
The Hall forced 12 Friar turnovers, while Providence forced 13 Pirate turnovers.
Gill matched his career-high with 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the floor. He set a career-high with eight blocks, which is also tied for fifth most in Seton Hall single-game history, to go with six rebounds.
Rhoden had 15 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds.
Powell finished with 14 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
McKnight had 11 points, a game-high eight assists and three steals.

News & Notes:

The victory improves Seton Hall to 15-4 overall and 7-0 in the BIG EAST, while Providence drops to 11-9 overall and 4-3 in conference play.
Seton Hall improves to an even 53-53 all-time against Providence and has now won seven of the last nine contests. Additionally, the Pirates are now 7-1 against the Friars when ranked nationally.
The win is Seton Hall's ninth straight, the longest since winning nine consecutive from Jan. 29 to March 1 of 2003. The last time Seton Hall won seven straight BIG EAST games in the same season was 2002-03 when the Pirates rattled off eight in a row. Dating back to last season, the Pirates have won nine consecutive league games.
With tonight's victory, head coach Kevin Willard ties P.J. Carlesimo for the most BIG EAST victories in program history (78).
Seton Hall shot 57.8% from the floor tonight, it's highest percentage in its seven BIG EAST games and its second-highest of the season dating back to the opener when it shot 61.7% against Wagner.
Gill's eight blocks tonight set Seton Hall's Prudential Center record.
With 14 points tonight, Powell needs only 23 more to reach former Pirate great Greg Tynes (1974-78) for fourth place Seton Hall's all-time scoring list.
Seton Hall is now 134-60 all-time at Prudential Center, including a 62-49 mark against BIG EAST competition.
Seton Hall improves to 96-13 when its lead gets to seven or more points at any point during a game.
With eight assists tonight, McKnight has surpassed the 400-mark for his career.
Gill reached double-figures in scoring for a sixth straight game, and surpassed the 200-point milestone for his career.
Powell was honored for reaching 2,000 career points in a pre-game ceremony.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 29 when it hosts DePaul at Prudential Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised on FS1 with Brian Custer and Jim Spanarkel, while Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will call it on the radio on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.