Pirates Celebrate Seniors Before Tight Loss to No. 14 Villanova, 79-77

Wednesday, March 4

Newark, N.J.

8:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

21-8,13-4Big East

Villanova

23-7,12-5Big East

Villanova

Seton Hall

Pirates Celebrate Seniors Before Tight Loss to No. 14 Villanova, 79-77

3/4/2020 11:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

NEWARK, N.J. – Four Pirates scored in double-figures, and the No. 8 Seton Hall men's basketball team rallied from a 10-point deficit with less than three minutes left, but ultimately fell to No. 14 Villanova, 79-77, on an emotional Senior Night in front of a Pirate-record 16,863 fans at the Prudential Center on Wednesday.

Prior to the game, Seton Hall honored its four graduating seniors in an emotional ceremony celebrating All-America candidate Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.), Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.), Romaro Gill (St. Thomas, Jamaica) and Asiah Avent (Springfield, N.J.).

Junior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) had a double-double with team-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds. The junior was 8-for-10 from the floor for the game, despite battling early foul trouble.

McKnight filled the stat sheet again with 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Powell had 14 points, four rebounds and matched his career-high with eight assists.

Junior Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) scored a career-high 12 points on the strength of 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range. All three of his trifectas came in the second half.

The outright BIG EAST regular season title is still in play as the Pirates remain one game ahead of Creighton and Villanova in the standings.

What Happened:
Villanova started hot out of the gate and quickly grabbed a 10-4 lead, but the Pirates methodically clawed back, and a layup by McKnight with 8:21 left in the first half gave them their first lead of the game. A driving layup by Powell gave The Hall its largest lead, 27-22, but the Wildcats answered with a 9-0 run to jump back ahead, 31-27, with only 43 seconds left before halftime. Villanova took a 33-30 advantage into the break.

An alley-oop dunk by Gill cut The Hall's deficit to only one shortly into the second half, but Villanova responded with a 10-0 burst to grab a 45-34 lead with 16:43 left to play. Another dunk by Gill and a three-pointer by junior Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) quickly cut the Pirates deficit to six, but the Wildcats took off again, and an 8-0 run gave them a commanding 53-39 lead with 14:20 remaining.

The Hall chipped away at the Villanova lead, and when Mamukelashvili took the ball end-to-end for an "and one" layup, his made free throw cut the Pirate deficit to five, 60-55, with 7:50 to go. Three minutes later, another bucket by Mamukelashvili brought Seton Hall to within three points, 66-63, but the Wildcats again had an answer with seven straight points to put them up 10 with just 2:28 left.

The resilient Pirates battled back again, and Mamukelashvili drained a deep three-pointer from the top of the key to cut the Villanova lead to three points, 76-73, with only 22.3 seconds remaining. After the teams traded field goals, a pair of free-throws by Reynolds with five seconds left made it a one-point game. A free-throw by Villanova's Jermaine Samuels put them up two points, and Seton Hall went end-to-end in only three seconds to get a shot to win it at the buzzer, but Cale's potential game-winner was just long.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 28-for-64 (43.8%) from the floor for the game, while Villanova was 28-for-54 (51.9%). The Hall was 12-for-29 (41.4%) from three-point range, while the Wildcats were 13-for-32 (40.6%).
The Hall edged Villanova, 33-to-32, on the glass, and had a 10-to-7 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Seton Hall was 9-for-13 (69.2%) from the free-throw line, while the Wildcats were 10-for-18 (55.6%).
Seton Hall forced 10 turnovers, while Villanova forced seven. Seton Hall had 20 points off turnovers, compared to 15 for the Wildcats.
The Pirates' bench out-scored the Villanova bench, 21-to-0.
Mamukelashvili had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He was 8-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-4 from three-point range.
McKnight finished with 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Powell notched 14 points, four rebounds and matched his career-high with eight rebounds.
Reynolds tallied a career-high 12 points on the strength of 3-for-3 shooting from three-point range.

News & Notes:

The loss drops Seton Hall to 21-8 overall and 13-4 in the BIG EAST, while Villanova improves to 23-7 overall and 12-5 in conference play.
In a pregame ceremony, Seton Hall honored its four graduating seniors, Asiah Avent, Romaro Gill, Quincy McKnight and Myles Powell.
Wednesday's game was the 120^th time Seton Hall has played Villanova, the most of any opponent.
Powell reached double-figures in scoring for the 24^th time this season and the 102^nd time of his career.
The teams combined for 25 made three-pointers tonight (13 for Villanova, 12 for Seton Hall), which is the highest combined total for the Pirates and their opponent this season.
Tonight's game drew an attendance of 16,863, the largest crowd for a Seton Hall game in Prudential Center history. Six of Seton Hall's 10 highest single-game crowds at the Prudential Center have come this season.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will complete the 2019-20 regular season on Saturday, March 7 when it travels to Omaha, Neb. for a BIG EAST clash at No. 11 Creighton. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., Eastern. The game will be televised nationally on FOX. The dynamic duo of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will again provide the radio call on WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.