Seton Hall snags win over DePaul to open Big East play

The Seton Hall Pirates have begun Big East play with a tally in the win column.

The Pirates knocked the DePaul Blue Demons off 74-66. The win came off the back of a furious second half comeback, as the Pirates scored 43 points to DePaul’s 29 in the second half, this after trailing 37-31 after the first 20 minutes.

Seton Hall made things interesting in the early goings of the second half. Tyrese Samuel and Myles Cale teamed up to score seven unanswered points to bring the Hall out in front by three. Back-to-back layups from Romeo Weems and Paul Reed put DePaul back in front however. And then, following a Romaro Gill dunk, the Blue Demons went on a 6-0 run. Jalen Coleman-Lands and Paul Reed hit four consecutive free throws, and then Reed hit a layup to put DePaul up by five with 11:19 to go.

The Pirates were not finished however. Myles Powell got three points in a row afterwards. Then, Quincy McKnight hit a 3-pointer and Myles Cale hit a free throw to tie the game. Coleman-Lands gave DePaul a three point lead after hitting a 3-pointer, which was answered by a jumper from Samuel.

Blows would continue to be traded up until Seton Hall went on a 9-0 run to close out the game. Most of those points came from the FT line, as Powell was responsible for five made free throws down the stretch. Gill and Cale picked up a dunk and a layup respectively during that run.

DePaul probably doesn’t feel too good about this, especially after such a great start to the year. It’s one they will have to quickly forget about, and to be fair to them, it’s not like they lost to an inferior squad. If the losses mount up, then yes. We can hit the panic button yet again. But the best thing that the Blue Demons can do is refocus and prepare for their matchup with the Providence Friars this weekend.

For Seton Hall though, this has to feel very good. Even without Sandro Mamukelashvili around, they were able to score a win against a rather good DePaul squad on the road. Their heart and effort cannot be questioned after a win like this, and now they will return home with a 9-4 record overall and a 1-0 mark in Big East play. On Friday, they will play the Georgetown Hoyas in what is certain to be a fascinating Big East encounter.