Powell, Pirates Rally to Upend DePaul for 10th Straight Win

Wednesday, January 29

Newark, N.J.

6:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

16-4,8-0Big East

DePaul

13-8,1-7Big East

DePaul

Seton Hall

Powell, Pirates Rally to Upend DePaul for 10th Straight Win

1/29/2020 8:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

NEWARK, N.J. – Senior All-America candidate Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) scored a game-high 24 points, including 18 in the second half, as the No. 10 Seton Hall men's basketball team overcame a nine-point second half deficit with some stout defense down the stretch to get past DePaul, 64-57, Wednesday night at Prudential Center for its 10^th straight victory.

Powell overcame a slow shooting start to carry the Pirates down the stretch, scoring all nine points of a 9-0 Seton Hall scoring run late in the second half that gave The Hall the lead for good while holding DePaul to one field goal made in the final seven minutes.

Sophomore Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) also had a big game for The Hall, notching a double-double with 14 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds, and senior Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) was spectacular on defense in the second half while also accumulating nine points and six assists.

Seton Hall remains the only unbeaten team in BIG EAST play as it improved to 8-0 for the first time in program history, only the 12th time in the 41-year history of the BIG EAST a team has begun the conference season 8-0 or better.

What Happened:
Leading 9-6, the Pirates went on an 8-0 run, and a made three-pointer by Powell gave them a 17-6 lead with 11:12 to go before the break. The Pirates stout defense held the Blue Demons to just three made baskets in their first 15 shots.

Down 23-15, the Blue Demons upped their defensive mettle and went on an 14-3 run themselves to take their first lead since the opening minute in the final moments of the first half. A runner at the halftime buzzer by Anthony Nelson (New York, N.Y.) ended Seton Hall's 5:31 scoring drought and sent the Pirates into the locker room down one point, 29-28.

DePaul opened the second half with a 10-2 run as the Pirate offense continued to struggle. Made three-pointers on back-to-back possessions gave the Blue Demons a 39-30 advantage with 16:14 left to play. Down 41-32, The Hall scored eight straight, and a driving layup by McKnight cut the Pirate deficit to 41-40 with 11:10 remaining.

With 6:45 left to play, Powell took over. Down 51-49, the Pirates went on a 9-0 run with all nine points coming from the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year. His three-pointer with 4:31 left to go gave The Hall a 58-51 lead and forced a DePaul timeout. Meanwhile McKnight was phenomenal on defense with the highlight being a huge steal on an alley oop breakup with 6:08 remaining. He and the Pirates held the Blue Demons to one made field goal in the final seven minutes of the game.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 22-for-57 (38.6%) from the floor for the game, while DePaul was 19-for-57 (33.3%). The Hall was 6-for-27 (22.2%) from three-point range, while the Blue Demons were 4-for-15 (26.7%).
The Hall out-rebounded DePaul, 43-to-39, which included a 14-to-12 edge in offensive rebounds and a 14-to-8 advantage in second chance points.
Seton Hall was 14-for-29 (48.3%) from the free-throw line, while the Blue Demons were 15-for-20 (75.0%).
Both teams forced 20 turnovers. Seton Hall had 16 points off turnovers, compared to 11 for DePaul.
Powell had a game-high 24 points to go with five rebounds.
Rhoden notched a double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
McKnight finished with nine points, as well as game-highs of six assists and four steals.
Senior Romaro Gill (St. Thomas, Jamaica) had a game-high five blocks to go with five rebounds.
Sophomore Ike Obiagu (Abuja, Nigeria) finished with six points, a season-high eight rebounds and three blocks.

News & Notes:

The victory improves Seton Hall to 16-4 overall and 8-0 in the BIG EAST for the first time ever. Seton Hall is only the 12th team in the 41-year history of the BIG EAST to start conference play 8-0 or better.
Seton Hall's 10-game win streak is the program's longest since winning 12 straight during its BIG EAST Championship season of 1992-93.
Seton Hall improves to 18-8 all-time against DePaul and has now won eight of the last 11 contests. Additionally, the Pirates are now 10-2 against the Blue Demons at home and 3-1 against them when ranked nationally.
The Pirates improve to 13-4 all-time when ranked No. 10 in the country with seven straight victories.
With tonight's victory, head coach Kevin Willard surpassed P.J. Carlesimo for the most BIG EAST victories in program history (79).
Powell reached double-figures in scoring for the 16^th time this season and the 94^th time of his career.
Junior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) returned to the court tonight after missing the prior 10 games with a fracture in his right wrist.
With 24 points tonight, Powell surpassed former Pirate great Greg Tynes (1974-78) for fourth place on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list. He now has 2,060 career points.
With five blocks tonight, Gill surpassed the 100-mark for his career. He also now has 69 for the season, sixth-most in single-season history.
Seton Hall is now 135-60 all-time at the Prudential Center, including a 63-49 mark against BIG EAST competition.
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Seton Hall is now 97-13 (.882) when its lead gets to seven or more points at any point during a game.

Up Next:
No. 10 Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 1, when it hosts Xavier at Prudential Center on Star Wars Day. Tip-off is scheduled for a bright and early 11 a.m., and the game will be televised on the FOX Broadcast Network with Tim Brando and Donny Marshall, while Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will call it on the radio on WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.