In the back of the Pirate minds, Seton Hall knew that they were good for this game. That Myles Powell, if needed could bail them out like he has this past season. That they could turn it on. Sunday, they fell short.
DePaul showed up to play, and play early. While the game was tightly contested in the first half, DePaul pulled away behind the play of Max Strus and Paul Reed to open up a 26-15 lead at the 9-minute mark. Seton Hall would look to almost every player in the first half to try and find some sort of answer. During the first half, Seton Hall went on multiple scoring droughts, putting them in a huge hole. Seton all would eventually claw their way back into the game by halftime, only down 38-33.
The second half was more of the same. Seton Hall would miss three pointers early, and this time would only be down about 9 for most of the half. In the final few minutes however, Seton Hall would try to be clutch yet again. DePaul went Ice cold from the field for the final 2:43. A Jared Rhoden dunk, a Myles Powell 3-pointer to bring the game within 1, 75-74. Reynolds however, could not re-create his clutch shot against St. John’s, ultimately missing the final shot. DePaul pulls off the upset.
Strus was electric. He tallied 5 3-pointers and tallied 21 points. Paul Reed nearly notched a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. DePaul as a team was electric from the field, shooting 54% and 42% from behind the arc. DePaul also tallied five blocks.
The Pirates, while struggling today, have the emergence of Taurean Thompson to be happy about. Although he came off the bench, he saw a few more minutes with Romaro Gill out. Racking up 15 points, five boards and a block off the bench in 16 minutes is stellar for the old Syracuse transfer. Michael Nzei went 3-3, and while McKnight went 4-6, Powell and Cale need to shoot the ball better. As a team, Seton Hall shot 25% from behind the arc which is abysmal in a guard dominant league.
With a huge shake-up like this, Seton Hall will look to rebound versus Butler at home, while DePaul will look to continue their fantastic play against St. John’s on the road.