Seton Hall Pirates vs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Match Player Stats On Nov 23, 2018

After a slow start, Seton Hall junior guard Myles Powell used a second-half surge to score 19 points, as Seton Hall survived a defensive battle to earn a 64-54 victory over Hawaii on Friday and advance to the championship game of the Wooden Legacy Classic at Fullerton, Calif.

Powell had just seven points with less than 12 minutes to play when he made a fast-break layup to give the Pirates a 39-34 lead. He was coming off a career-best 40 points in a quarterfinal victory over Grand Canyon and entered averaging 27.5 points per game.

Powell's layup came during a 12-0 run that turned a three-point Hawaii lead into a 43-34 Seton Hall advantage.

Senior forward Michael Nzei added 16 points for Seton Hall (3-2), which will face Miami on Sunday for the Wooden Legacy title. Hawaii will face Fresno State in the third-place game.

Senior guard Sheriff Drammeh utilized his quickness to score 14 points for Hawaii (4-2), while also helping on defense against Powell, who was 6 of 13 from the field and 3 of 8 from 3-point range.

Seton Hall held a 25-23 lead at halftime as offense proved hard to come by. The Pirates were 11 of 31 (35.5 percent) from the field in the first half and 2 of 9 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range. The Rainbow Warriors were 9 of 24 (37.5 percent) in the first half and 3 of 11 (27.3 percent) from distance.

Junior guard Eddie Stansberry added 14 points for Hawaii, while junior forward Zigmars Raimo grabbed nine rebounds. Rainbow Warriors senior guard Brocke Stepteau was held to just four points one game after scoring a career-best 24 in a quarterfinal victory over Utah.

Friday's back-and-forth struggle was new territory for Hawaii, which has been far more familiar with wider margins. All five of the Rainbow Warriors' previous games had been decided by at least 11 points, including their 90-79 victory over Utah on Thursday.

Seton Hall is now 6-0 all-time against Hawaii. Powell scored seven points the last time the two schools met at Hawaii in 2016.

--Field Level Media