No. 8 Pirates Struggle at No. 11 Creighton, Still Win BIG EAST share

Saturday, March 7

Omaha, Neb.

2:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

21-9, 13-5BE

Creighton

24-7, 13-5BE

#8 Seton Hall

#11 Creighton

No. 8 Pirates Struggle at No. 11 Creighton, Still Win BIG EAST share

3/7/2020 5:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)CHAMPIONSHIP APPAREL

Omaha, Neb. - The No. 8 Seton Hall men's basketball team got 15 points apiece from seniors Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) and Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.), but No. 11 Creighton ended the game on a 13-1 run to come away with a 77-60 win over the Pirates Saturday at CHI Health Center Omaha.

Seton Hall ends the regular season with a 13-5 record in the BIG EAST and finishes with one of three shares for the BIG EAST regular season championship, the program's first regular season title since 1993. The Pirates have earned the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and will face either Marquette or Xavier in the quarterfinals Thursday at 9:30 p.m.

Powell, who had five assists, and McKnight were joined in double figures by sophomore Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.), who had 12 points.

Turning Point
After battling to a 32-32 draw through one half, Seton Hall used an 8-0 run to take a 50-47 advantage with 9:21 to go as McKnight hit a wing three-pointer, senior Romaro Gill (St. Thomas, Jamaica) dunked the ball home after creating a turnover and then Rhoden buried a three-pointer after a shot clock malfunction.

Unfortunately for the Pirates, the final nine minutes was all Creighton. Christian Bishop immediately tied the game on an "and-one" layup to begin a run of scoring on five straight possessions, punctuated by Ty-Shon Alexander hitting a layup to make it 61-54 with 6:01 remaining.

Powell got the Pirates to within four with a three-pointer at 5:44, and the Pirates got a stop on defense, but could not capitalize. Then Denzel Mahoney buried a three-pointer, starting a run of Creighton ending the game with six straight makes.

Inside the Numbers

Seton Hall shot 44.6 percent for the game (25-for-56), 36.4 percent from three (8-for-22) and only 2-for-7 at the line (28.6 percent). The seven free throws attempted were a season-low for the Pirates.
Creighton shot 54.7 percent on the day (29-for-53), 53.8 percent from three (14-for-26) and 55.6 percent at the charity stripe (5-for-9).
Seton Hall out-rebounded Creighton, 35-24, and had a 12-0 advantage in second chance points.
Creighton turned Seton Hall's 14 turnovers into 17 points.
Powell finished with 15 points and five assists.
McKnight had 15 points and four rebounds.
Rhoden was 5-for-8 from the field and had 12 points and five rebounds.
Junior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) posted a game-high 12 rebounds, which also matched his season high.
There were seven ties and 16 lead changes.

News & Notes

Seton Hall finishes the regular season with a 21-9 record overall and a 13-5 mark in the BIG EAST Conference, which has earned the Pirates a three-way share of the league's regular season championship.
The Pirates were in first place for every day of the BIG EAST's regular season, marking the program's first wire-to-wire run at the top of the league.
Creighton is the only team to sweep the Pirates this season. The Hall defeated all other eight BIG EAST opponents at least once.
Due to tiebreakers, Seton Hall will be the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament in spite of winning a share of the league's conference championship.

Up Next
Seton Hall will be the No. 3 seed in the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament and will face either Marquette or Xavier in the quarterfinals, pending the results of Saturday night's Butler at Xavier game. Thursday's quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden will tip-off at 9:30 p.m., and will be nationally televised on FS1 with Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery on the call. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.