Myles Powell scored 23 of his 29 points after halftime, including 2,000th of his career, as Seton Hall defeated St. John’s Saturday. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
NEW YORK — Winners of seven straight and facing a 43-30 halftime deficit, Seton Hall’s newly-regained national ranking and potential dream season appeared to have hit a pothole in the road Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden against a scrappy St. John’s team looking to recapture the magic it bottled up in non-conference victories over West Virginia and Arizona.
The Pirates, and Myles Powell in particular, thought differently.
In the latest entry to Powell’s highlight reel, the senior guard scored all but six of his 29 points over the final 20 minutes — including the 2,000th of his career, just the fifth player in program history to breathe such rarified air — as Seton Hall, the 18th-ranked team in the nation, kept its undefeated Big East Conference record intact with an 82-79 victory over the Red Storm to move a game-and-a-half clear of second-place Villanova in the league standings.
Saturday’s contest was one the Pirates (14-4, 6-0 Big East) have been through several times before, a slow start at the World’s Most Famous Arena against a St. John’s team that thrives off its pressure in the opening minutes, forcing 15 Seton Hall turnovers and getting a bounce-back game from LJ Figueroa to go with 18 points from senior guard Mustapha Heron. The Red Storm (12-7, 1-5 Big East) still had chances to win in the final minute, but were done in by crucial missed free throws and Seton Hall’s more experienced hands.
The Pirates return home for three straight affairs in familiar territory, beginning Wednesday night against Providence, but until then, we offer a summary of the happenings in midtown Manhattan for both teams, and the takeaways that ensued:
1) The 2,000-Point Man
Powell achieved his latest milestone with his first second-half basket, a layup 35 seconds removed from the intermission that brought Seton Hall back within single digits and set the stage for what was to come.
A pair of 3-point field goals on consecutive possessions gave the Pirates their first lead of the afternoon midway through the final stanza, part of a 9-of-11 performance for the Trenton native over the final 20 minutes, which culminated in him getting to keep the basketball with which he scored his historic point as a commemorative reminder.
“We’ve been blessed to watch him play for the last three-and-a-half years,” Kevin Willard gushed as he began his postgame press conference. “You’re looking at a pro, and I can’t say it enough, the best player of college basketball.”
As for the impact of such a significant moment?
“It means I got a lot of wins,” Willard quipped.
The man making history, though, offered a more introspective answer.
“This is what I came back for my senior year for,” Powell proudly declared. “The great group of teammates that I have and the coaching staff I have, without them, I’m nothing. I’m blessed to be in this situation, I’m thankful for everything that’s come my way, and we’re going to continue to play Seton Hall basketball and keep getting wins, because that’s all that matters at this point.”
2) Initiating the conversation is half the battle.
It’s one thing to get to the precipice of winning conference games, as this young St. John’s team has learned, but it’s quite another to actually complete the task and earn victories in a Big East that is the third-toughest league in the country, according to Ken Pomeroy’s ratings.
“They made some big free throws down the stretch, so you’ve got to give them credit,” head coach Mike Anderson lamented as Josh Roberts (16 points, 8 rebounds) missed all five of his attempts at the foul line, which ultimately helped swing the pendulum the way of the Pirates. “We haven’t been out of a game, with the exception of the Georgetown game, but I’m proud that they continue to fight. Actually, I thought we got better. We kind of amped it up and I thought guys played for one another, but we’ll clean up some things going down the stretch. That’s inexperience versus experience, I keep saying that.”
3) The Big Three
In the National Football League, Troy Aikman had Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin as the Dallas Cowboys won three Super Bowls in the 1990s. In more recent times, LeBron James teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to bring a pair of NBA championships and two more Eastern Conference titles to the Miami Heat. South Orange has a similar triumvirate to call its own, as Quincy McKnight and Romaro Gill once again stepped up their games alongside Powell, with McKnight scoring 20 points and Gill adding six blocked shots to a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double.
“He was a high-level scorer coming out of Sacred Heart, and I think we’ve turned him into a really, really good point guard,” Willard said of McKnight. “I thought the last game (where he amassed 13 assists against Butler while defending Kamar Baldwin) was his best game, and I’ve gotten to the point where I expect this from Quincy.”
“I don’t think our big guys get enough credit,” he continued, citing the impact of Gill and Ike Obiagu. “Those two guys have been such difference-makers, and when I watch film, I say it now, too. If a kid goes down there, you’re getting blocked. Both those guys — and Ro has been phenomenal — are just changing games and giving us big momentum stops and chances to get on the break.”
4) Crisis in Queens?
Anderson’s decision to not give Heron the basketball more often in the closing minutes raised some eyebrows, but the coach in the middle of his first season at St. John’s remains confident in his long-term vision.
“You saw a great ballgame,” Anderson interrupted Newsday’s Roger Rubin after Heron deflected his teammates’ playmaking abilities as the reason why he felt his needing the ball was unnecessary. “That’s how teammates become individual. When you talk like that, to me, the question didn’t make any sense. He trusts his teammates. I think it’s something we’re going to work on in terms of getting it to him, but I think Seton Hall thought that, too.”
“If you could sit there and X-and-O the whole game, you’d be a hell of a coach, but you’ve got to make adjustments. Those guys did.”
5) “We’re gonna fight.”
Picked to win the Big East at the start of the season, Seton Hall has not backed down from the target on its chest, turning a potential downward spiral after last month’s loss at Rutgers into eight straight wins, half of which have come away from home. In the process, and without Sandro Mamukelashvili, who continues to recover from a broken wrist, the Pirates have forged a consistent identity.
“We’re tough,” McKnight reaffirmed. “Four road wins, eight in a row, we’re just showing everybody we’re tough. We went to Hinkle and we were down 10 at halftime, came back in the second half, down 13 at the half today and came back again.”
“We’ve just showed you guys that we’re going to fight, every game. We got off to a little slow start today, but we’re hard-nosed. Coach just keeps us on our heels. He always pushes up to keep being better. I think everybody’s playing their role right now, and that’s what’s making us so good. Nobody’s forcing the issue, everybody’s just doing what they do.”
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