Field Level Media
Jan 30, 2019
Quincy McKnight's three-point play with 2:54 to go gave Seton Hall the lead for good, and the Pirates held on down the stretch for a 65-63 victory over Providence on Wednesday night in Newark, N.J.
Myles Powell led Seton Hall (13-8, 4-5 Big East) with a game-high 31 points, shooting 12-for-23 overall and 3-for-7 on 3-point attempts. Powell also had a 31-point game against Butler earlier this month.
Michael Nzei scored 12 points for the Pirates, who won despite missing 11 of their 14 3-point attempts.
Alpha Diallo had a team-high 21 points to complement four steals for the Friars (13-8, 3-5), who had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-3 on the road. Isaiah Jackson backed Diallo with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
After leading by as many as nine points early in the second half and trailing by seven with 14:02 to play, the Pirates rallied for a 63-61 edge on McKnight's layup and subsequent free throw.
Powell's dunk doubled the lead, but Providence hung within 65-63 on a pair of Jackson free throws with 1:34 to go. However, the Friars failed to score again, missing their last two shots, including a point-blank attempt by Jackson with five seconds left.
The result ended a four-game losing streak for Seton Hall, which lost 72-63 at Providence earlier this month.
In beating Providence at home for the fourth consecutive year, Seton Hall led by as many as nine points in the first half before settling for a 34-27 edge at the intermission.
The margin reached nine again when Nzei hit a layup on the Pirates' first possession of the second half, but the Friars countered with a 15-0 run that turned the game in their favor.
David Duke and Diallo converted three-point plays on back-to-back possessions in the middle of the run that propelled Providence to a 42-36 lead before a layup by McKnight ended the Seton Hall drought with 15:21 remaining.
The Friars went on to lead by as many as seven, but this time the Pirates rallied, regaining the lead on a 3-pointer by Powell with 7:55 left, setting up the tight finish.
--Field Level Media