No. 12 Pirates Excise the History, Win at No. 10 Villanova

Saturday, February 8

Philadelphia, Pa.

2:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

18-5,10-1Big East

Villanova

17-6,7-4Big East

Seton Hall

Villanova

No. 12 Pirates Excise the History, Win at No. 10 Villanova

2/8/2020 5:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA - The No. 12 Seton Hall men's basketball team limited No. 10 Villanova to 36.1 percent shooting while senior All-America candidate Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) scored 19 points and junior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) added 17 as the Pirates toppled the Wildcats on their home floor for the first time since 1994, 70-64, Saturday afternoon in front of 20,706 at Wells Fargo Center.

Seton Hall has now won 12 of its last 13 games to improve to 18-5 overall and 10-1 in the BIG EAST, now holding a three-game lead in the conference standings. The 10-1 start is the best in program history as is the 6-0 start in conference road games. The six league road wins tie a program record. The Pirates also earned their sixth NET "Quad 1" road win and now have 13 "Quad 1+2" wins on the season.

Powell, who became Seton Hall's all-time leader in three-pointers made, was solid as usual with his 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting while Mamukelashvili had a breakout performance in just his fourth game back after missing seven weeks due to injury with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting with eight rebounds and two blocks.

As usual, the Pirates had tremendous contributions from many areas. Senior Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) had a hard-fought 14 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) posted nine points, 11 rebounds and two assists with no turnovers in 26 minutes. Junior Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) had seven big points and played stellar defense for 23 minutes.

Turning Point
Seton Hall opened the game with a 20-10 lead, but Villanova closed the first half on a 21-7 run to go into the locker room with a slim four-point advantage. But as usual, the Pirates proved to be a resilient in the second half. They quickly regained the lead on a Powell bucket and a Rhoden three-pointer.

The teams were tied or within two for a few minutes as both defenses forced stops but with 11:54 to go Powell made a tough shot to give The Hall the lead and then intercepted a poor Villanova pass. The Pirates nearly gave the ball away on an attempted outlet, but Reynolds, Jr. made the save near the sideline, dished to Rhoden, who dished back to Reynolds, Jr., in the corner for a three-pointer to put The Hall on top, 43-38, with 11:29 to go.

Seton Hall never trailed the rest of the way. Villanova got within one point on four different occasions, but the Pirates didn't buckle. Powell hit a three the first time, Mamukelashvili blocked a big shot that led to a put-back layup of his own, McKnight made a tough running layup in traffic and Mamukelashvili swished a wide-open three.

With 4:40 to go, Mamukelashvili missed twice underneath the basket but got his own rebound both times and finally finished on the third attempt to put the Pirates up six, 57-51. Then Powell and Mamukelashvili each had a back-breaking moment as Powell broke ankles on a step-back jumper with 3:27 to play, and Mamukelashvili got a McKnight feed in the post for an easy layup with 2:50 to go, resulting in a 61-55 lead.

The Hall put the game away by holding the Wildcats to 3-for-12 shooting in the last four minutes and knocking down nine of 10 free throw attempts in the game's last 49 seconds.

Inside the Numbers

Seton Hall shot 41.4 percent for the game (24-for-58), 42.9 percent from three (9-for-21) and a season-high 86.7 percent at the free throw line (13-for-15). Villanova shot 36.1 percent for the day (22-for-61), 33.3 percent from long distance (9-for-27) and 78.6 percent from the charity stripe (11-for-14).
The Pirates owned the inside with a 43-32 advantage on the boards and outscoring the Wildcats in the paint, 26-14.
Powell led the Pirates with 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
Mamukelashvili was 7-for-15 from the field and 3-for-5 from three to post his 17 points. He also had eight rebounds and two blocks.
Rhoden was solid with nine points and 11 rebounds while posting a +16.
McKnight delivered 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Reynolds, Jr., led the team with four assists and finished with seven points.
Senior Romaro Gill (St. Thomas, Jamaica) blocked three more shots on the day as the Pirates finished with seven as a team.

News & Notes

Seton Hall, winner of 12 of its last 13 games, is 18-5 overall and 10-1 in the BIG EAST, now holding a three-game lead in the conference standings. The 10-1 start in conference is the best in program history.
The Pirates are 6-0 in BIG EAST road games for the first time ever. The six league road wins tie a program record with the 2015-16 team, and the team's seventh true road win of the year overall matches the 1988-89 and 2015-16 teams for most in the program's BIG EAST era (1979-present).
This was the 118th all-time meeting between Seton Hall and Villanova, and it was the first time ever that both teams were ranked for the game.
This was Seton Hall's third win this season over a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 10 at the time of the game.
The Hall snapped a 17-game losing streak in road games at Villanova, which dated back to 1994.
Seton Hall is now 18-3 all-time and 5-1 this season when ranked No. 12 in the country.
As of now, the Pirates picked up their eighth "Quad 1" victory of the season and now have a 13-5 record against "Quad 1+2" opponents. Their six "Quad 1" road wins are most in the nation.
This was Seton Hall's 15th true road win since the start of the 2016-17 season when the attendance was above 8,500.
Powell surpassed Jeremy Hazell (2007-11) to become Seton Hall's all-time leader in three-pointers made. He now has 330 makes. He also is now within 24 points of Hazell on the all-time scoring list.

Up Next
The challenges continue as Seton Hall will next be tested by a great Creighton team on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at Prudential Center. Game time is 6:30 p.m., on FS1. Dave Popkin and John Fanta will deliver the radio broadcast on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on Sirius 137, XM 207 and the Pirate Sports Network.

Wednesday is also Bill Raftery Bobblehead Day, and the first 4,000 fans will receive the bobblehead, courtesy of RWJ Barnabas Health. Tickets are available atSHUPirates.com/SHUvsCU.