Seton Hall eludes defeat with 65-63 win over Providence

Michael Nzei hit a layup at the 19:44 mark of the second half to give the Seton Hall Pirates a 36-27 lead over the Providence Friars. The Pirates wouldn’t score again for another 4:23, but still managed to wriggle their way into the win column anyway.

Myles Powell erupted for 14 points in the second half and 31 in the game and helped the Pirates celebrate a 65-63 win over the visiting Friars. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for The Hall, and subsequently put Providence back on the losing side of things after they’d won two in a row and three of their last four.

Powell’s eruption couldn’t have come at a better time for Seton Hall as he’d been stymied a lot in recent weeks. He shot 12-for-23 from the field, with his mark of 12 made field goals being the highest output he’d had since the 12 he had against the Grand Canyon Antelopes back on November 22. It was his first 30-point outburst since he had dropped 31 against the Butler Bulldogs back on January 9, and the fourth of at least 30 points this season.

The aforementioned Nzei was also integral in Seton Hall’s victory. He was the only other player besides Powell to get into double figures on the night, as he scored 12 points. It’s his 10th double figure performance of the season, which surpasses the amount of double figure showings he had in his entire career as a Pirate. Clearly, getting more PT has helped him in spades, and he continues to excel when called upon.

He went 4-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the FT line. The Pirates on the whole made their gimmes count, as they shot 12-for-15 on the night.

Quincy McKnight was third on the team in points with nine, going 4-for-7 from the floor. He led with three assists, tied up with Anthony Nelson who made it happen off the bench. Taurean Thompson gave the Pirates eight points off the bench in 20 minutes of action, and nine boards as well.

Alpha Diallo did everything he could to give Providence the win. He was the lone Friar in double figures, as Diallo scored 21 points in 37 minutes of action. Isaiah Jackson had nine points and David Duke put up eight, but no other Friar got more than six points.

The team was porous from the field, making just 21 shots on 55 attempts. They went merely 7-for-22 from 3-point land, and while that was better than the efforts of their adversaries, they couldn’t compensate for it on their 2-point tries, either.

Providence will shift their focus to the DePaul Blue Demons for a road matchup this weekend. Seton Hall, on the other hand, will travel to Indy to play Butler later this week, as well.