Sha Sounds Off: Georgetown

On winning despite only scoring 51 points:

“You know what? We just dug deep, right? We just dug deep and kind of found a way to win, made some plays when we needed to make them. I thought Trey Parker was really good down the stretch for us, I thought going to the two was good for us. It kind of got them off balance, their two got us off balance, they didn’t Budd and a couple guys get in the lane, their two and our two. I think what it says about our team is after the disappointing loss we had the other day, guys were just trying to figure a way, no matter what, how to win a game. They’re trying to win a game, and I thought that having 16-17 offensive rebounds was a big part of it. It gave us those second chance points, and then making your free throws down the stretch.”

On adjusting to Georgetown’s zone:

“Obviously a short turnaround, but we kind of had a quick practice (Friday) and we went through it. We knew they were gonna play it, but give them credit. They did a really good job of keeping our guys out of the lane, then they kept going after the third pass, after the fourth pass, going to man. And our guys didn’t make the adjustment like we were supposed to, because we knew they were gonna do that, and we got complacent. I think that’s kind of what got us in the first half. The second half, I thought we did a better job moving the basketball and trying to get some driving lanes.”

On reverting to his old starting lineup:

“It’s part of basketball, big dawg. Twin, to be honest, he came to me, he feels more comfortable coming off the bench. That was big of him to say that, but what am I gonna say? I’m gonna start you? It don’t matter, he’s still playing starting minutes, but it was good. I thought Mike gave us some juice, so that was good for Mike to give us some juice. I’ll be honest with you guys: This team is just mentally and physically exhausted. Like, I went in the locker room after the game and you would think we lost. This bye week is very crucial right now. It came for us even though we had three games in a week, which I think is insane.”

On the tenor of Saturday’s game and his message to the team:

“Big East basketball, man. Old-school Big East basketball. This is what it used to be like when I played. Just stick with it, just keep doing the things you’re doing. We gotta get a couple runouts, I thought the second half, we got some runouts. We have to push the basketball, pass it…I thought we had some good looks, like, our shooters had some really good looks. We just didn’t hit them, and then Najai was real good down the stretch getting some offensive rebounds and tips and stuff like that. And I thought Trey and a couple guys got in there and made some passes, made some easy buckets. I thought that was the difference.”

On Najai Hines:

“I thought his spurts were good. His spurts were good because it wasn’t a running game. It’s different when we play against Creighton and all these teams that want to run, score 90, 80 points. Us and (Georgetown), we just grind it out, so it was good that there wasn’t a lot of running, to be honest with you. It was good. Listen, I told you guys before: We need him to play like this for us to be successful. Like, we need this juice. I’m happy that I stuck with him even though he got three fouls. I thought he was giving us something that Steph wasn’t giving us, so I think this will be good for Steph once he gets his ankle back to 100 percent this week.”

On something to gain from a game like this:

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Jerry, man. Obviously like I said the other day, people don’t understand how good DePaul is, especially on the defensive end. But this is a team that’s got 19 wins, and we’re fighting for something. It’s always good to get a win, it’s always good to come and take care of home, right? You lose one the other day, it hurts, and you come back and get a win like this…the narrative out there is so crazy. I see a lot of teams that have 19 wins and they’re locks, like, 17 wins, they’re locks. We got 19 wins and they’re talking about how bad the league is. The league is really good, it’s just very competitive. Some of the other leagues, the top is good, the bottom is not. That’s another story for another day. I’m going all over the place right now. I just want to make sure the narrative is crazy about how the league is down. The league’s not down, the teams are just good.”

On whether or not he has an NCAA Tournament team:

“I ain’t…I’m just worried about getting through this bye week and…who do we play? Xavier? That’s our prize for winning (Saturday). I’m just trying to get through this bye week and trying to get rest, and rest is the most important thing. Do I think we have a tournament team? Yeah, I do. I thought we went out and challenged ourselves in the non-conference, I thought we won some games. Like I said, this conference is really good. Teams are equal. Creighton goes and wins at UConn, right? Things happen. There are very good coaches in this league.”

On earning Ed Cooley’s vote as Big East Coach of the Year:

“Thank you. I’m worried about winning some games, but thanks. Ed is really good, he’s always been supportive of me, I’m very supportive of him as well. Nice words by him, but we’ll see.”

On his appreciation for Big East basketball then and now:

“It’s just different. Everything is different. The players are different, the league (then) was different, the players were tougher. It’s just a different brand of basketball right now. I don’t know how many fouls were called, but that’s what it is. Sometimes you just gotta adjust to the officiating crew, but it’s tough to ref games like this when two teams play so hard and play so physical. I’m not gonna compare the two. It’s just different, it’s just a different brand of basketball. Now everybody wants to score. Everybody wants to see scoring, nobody wants to see defense. That’s what it comes down to.”

Furman recovers from late Wofford run, downs Terriers for road win

By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — “There’s two ways you can look at life: you can look behind you or look in front of you.”

 

His team having dropped four of its last five Southern Conference games, Furman head coach Bob Richey shared that perspective with the media following Saturday night’s rivalry showdown with Wofford.

 

The Paladins (18-11, 9-7 SoCon) built a double-digit lead, saw a massive Terrier run erase it, and then responded with timely execution and tenacious defense to secure a 76-67 victory over Wofford (18-11, 10-6).

 

Cayden Vasko and Brian Sumpter helped Wofford to an early 7-7 tie, but Furman answered quickly. A Charles Johnston three-point play, Ben Vander Wal tip-in and back-to-back Asa Thomas triples sparked an 18-11 advantage less than eight minutes into the game.

 

Vasko and Nils Machowski connected from deep on consecutive possessions to trim the margin to 25-21. Furman countered with a flurry as Abijah Franklin buried back-to-back three-pointers, and Thomas knocked down two more from beyond the arc — his fifth and sixth straight makes to open the game — stretching the lead to 43-27 with 2:53 remaining in the half.

 

“I’ve been doing this my whole life,” Thomas said. “Seeing a couple go down as a shooter is probably one of the best feelings in the world. It builds confidence for our whole team. Everyone started hitting shots and getting stops, and it was a good win for us. Obviously, there’s bad blood between these schools. It’s my first year here (at Furman), but I’m already feeling it. I’m glad we came out, fought for the victory and were the tougher team tonight.”

 

Machowski ignited Wofford’s response with a driving layup, and Vasko, Rex Stirling and Kahmare Holmes added baskets in a 9-0 run to close the half, cutting Furman’s lead to 43-36 at the intermission.

 

That push carried into the second half. Holmes scored five straight points in the opening minutes, and a pair of Brendan Rigsbee free throws, followed by a Holmes triple, capped a 22-4 surge that gave Wofford a 48-44 lead with 17 minutes remaining.

 

Furman answered again. Alex Wilkins drilled a three-pointer, and Tom House converted an old-fashioned three-point play to reclaim a 50-49 advantage. Vasko and Holmes combined for five straight to put Wofford back on top, but Cooper Bowser finished an alley-oop from Wilkins to restore a one-point Furman lead with 9:48 to play.

 

“I haven’t been able to play Wofford since the (SoCon) championship game last year,” Bowser said, referencing an injury that sidelined him in the teams’ January meeting. “Seeing them win on our home floor definitely lit a fire inside of me. We were challenged to play a complete game, especially defensively. I’m happy we were able to come out here and get a win.”

 

Chace Watley converted a three-point play to pull Wofford within 60-59, but baskets from Eddrin Bronson and Johnston pushed the lead back to six. Though Machowski and Holmes later earned trips to the free throw line, Furman’s defense stiffened when it mattered most.

 

Over the final seven minutes, the Paladins held Wofford to just 2-of-15 shooting from the field. They disrupted passing lanes, contested shots, and controlled the defensive glass down the stretch. Wilkins and Vander Wal extended the lead to 69-61, and while Stirling’s layup cut the margin to five with 1:10 remaining, Furman never relinquished control.

 

“I don’t think we played fast enough in certain areas,” Wofford head coach Kevin Giltner said. “We started playing slow in half-court basketball and they were able to be really, physical. Our shot selection and shot creation during that lull were not very good. I’ve got a group of guys that are fired up to continue to get better in practice and dive in on film and scouting reports. We will be ready.”

 

Wofford added two late baskets, but Furman sealed the win by converting eight consecutive free throws in the final minute.

 

“We just wanted to be Furman,” Richey said. “We wanted to get back to our identity and play with toughness. The game honors toughness. Everybody thinks we have a shooting problem. This is not a shooting problem. It’s an intensity, connection, and toughness problem. We’re going to be known by our resolve and how tough we are in critical moments. Tonight, our defense fueled our offense.”

 

Richey also praised Thomas’ hot start.

 

“That guy is a great shooter, man,” he said. “All I told him was if you can see the rim and land on two feet, shoot it. He took great ones and got on fire there. We ran a couple of actions to free him up a little bit. I thought his ability to space the floor was a huge thing that allowed Coop to play how he played.”

 

Thomas led Furman with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Wilkins added 15 points and five assists, while Bowser recorded 13 points and seven rebounds. Johnston chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

 

Furman shot almost 52 percent from the floor, and 9-of-17 from three-point range. The Paladins held advantages in points off turnovers (11-7), points in the paint (36-32) and bench scoring (13-8).

 

Holmes paced Wofford with 20 points, while Vasko posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Stirling finished with 10 points, and Machowski added nine. The Terriers shot nearly 44 percent overall and 7-of-26 from beyond the arc.

 

Furman returns home Wednesday to host The Citadel at 6 p.m., while Wofford travels to face ETSU at 7 p.m.

High Point holds off Winthrop, earns share of Big South crown

By Josh Noel (@Josh_DDH)

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The Big South’s most anticipated regular season game in recent memory lived up to its billing, and then some. 

High Point (26-4, 14-1 Big South) started fast and closed effectively in an 89-87 win to split the season series with Winthrop (20-9, 12-2 Big South), earning at least a share of the Big South regular season championship for a third straight season.

“This game was crazy, I haven’t even fully processed it yet,” High Point head coach Flynn Clayman said. “Until you get in a game like this for something at stake, you wonder if your team has what it takes. Our guys stuck together and we made the necessary plays.”

Terry Anderson led High Point with 23 points and 11 rebounds in his fourth double-double of the season. Four other Panthers reached double figures, including Owen Aquino and Vincent Brady II (12 points each), Braden Hausen (11) and Rob Martin (10).

Despite being ahead or tied for all but 53 seconds of game time, the Panthers needed a full 40 minutes to put away the Eagles. A 16-0 second half Winthrop run, punctuated by a Kody Clouet 3-pointer from the top of the arc, briefly gave High Point a 71-70 deficit.

“We had a little meltdown there, but earlier in the year we would have lost that game,” said Clayman.

A notable difference for High Point from earlier in the year came from the availability of Cam’Ron Fletcher, who missed the previous Winthrop game amid a six-game absence. Fletcher made his presence known Saturday by drilling consecutive 3-pointers to re-establish the Panthers’ lead for good.

“I’m proud of Cam; he’s been through a lot this season and in his college career,” said Clayman. “He really wants HPU to be a champion. I couldn’t be happier that he stepped up.”

Martin echoed his coach’s comments about Fletcher from their days in the St. Louis area prior to being teammates.

“With Cam, I’ve known him for 15-plus years, so I’m just always encouraging him to stay ready,” Martin said.

It took another five points at the free throw line from Anderson and a Hausen corner three to officially give the Panthers an 87-80 lead and enough breathing room to ultimately hold off the Eagles.

Saturday afternoon’s contest largely felt like an inverse of what transpired in Rock Hill just over a month ago. After a Logan Duncomb layup began the scoring, the Panthers rattled off a 12-0 run to seize early control. High Point students were largely absent given their spring break began on Friday, but a raucous sellout crowd of 5,165 filled the Qubein Center with plenty of noise and electricity.

A flurry of tough layups and timely three-pointers kept the Panther advantage at double digits for much of the first half. High Point’s lead peaked at 33-16, following six straight points by Brady.

Despite the sizable scoreboard advantage, the Panthers struggled to contain Duncomb, the frontrunner for Big South Player of the Year honors. High Point committed five fouls in the opening stanza, and even saw true freshman Caden Miller foul out in just five minutes of game action.

“My message to our team was whatever’s going on, we have to overcome it,” said Clayman. “Our defense was great in the first half. It got to that point where it was better to give up a layup (than foul).”

Foul trouble for the Panthers allowed the Eagles to get within single digits and close the first half trailing 42-35. The fireworks continued into the second half, leading to offsetting technical fouls issued to Martin and Winthrop’s Daylen Berry. Despite the chippy game atmosphere, Clayman reiterated his appreciation for Winthrop.

“These games have been fantastic because they’re well-coached,” said Clayman. “Before the Furman game, they let us shoot around together. The Big South is competitive, but we’re trying to raise each other up. I commend them for the competition, and if we’re fortunate enough, we’ll see each other again.”

Duncomb recorded his twelfth double-double of the season (23 points, 14 rebounds) for Winthrop. Kody Clouet added 20 points (4-for-8 3-point shooting). A pair of Eagles recorded career highs, as Seifeldin Hendawy tallied a career-high 14 points off the bench while Tommy Kamarad pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Panthers’ recent success marked a significant achievement as the first Big South school to win 25 or more games in three straight seasons. High Point ranks behind only Houston, Duke, and UConn for winningest teams in this same time span. With the victory over Winthrop setting the stage for the Panthers to win their third consecutive outright Big South regular season championship, Clayman reflected about the program’s metamorphosis from his inception on staff.

“Just to think where we were three years ago, picked seventh in the preseason poll, it’s a true team effort with alignment from the top down,” Clayman said. “I’m grateful for Coach (Alan) Huss for giving me the opportunity to be an offensive coordinator and associate head coach. The job’s not finished, though, we have bigger goals in mind.”

High Point will conclude its regular season by traveling to Presbyterian for a nationally televised matchup on ESPNU Thursday. With a win, the Panthers secure the outright Big South regular season championship and No. 1 seed in the Big South tournament. High Point can retain the top seed with a loss, but would need Winthrop to lose one of its remaining contests versus Charleston Southern and Presbyterian. Winthrop can take the top seed and earn a share of the regular season title if High Point falls at Presbyterian and the Eagles win both of their final two games.

With both teams unable to fall below the No. 2 seed, the only possible scenario in which they could meet again is in the Big South championship. Should that occur, there is no telling what may happen in the next chapter of the conference’s premier bidding rivalry.

Balanced offense, championship defense join forces as UConn gets back on track

Alex Karaban led UConn with 12 points as Huskies erased bitter loss to Creighton with win over Villanova. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

PHILADELPHIA — After surrendering a season-high 91 points in a loss to Creighton Wednesday, Dan Hurley was critical of his UConn team’s defense, or lack thereof.

Hurley called the Huskies’ escapades on that side of the basketball a “joke” in the wake of the loss to the Bluejays, intimating that a showing of that nature was on the horizon after UConn had appeared to be a shell of its former self over the past two weeks.

Saturday’s response was more akin to the Huskies of old.

Shooting almost 55 percent from the floor, fifth-ranked UConn allowed its defense to buoy the offense, particularly after halftime. The Huskies limited Villanova’s dynamic perimeter attack to just 6-for-24 from behind the three-point arc, and fired a 13-2 salvo to open the second half to punctuate a 73-63 victory whose final score is much closer than the final stanza let on.

“That’s kind of like bulletproof basketball right there,” Hurley said as UConn (25-3, 15-2 Big East) saw each of its nine players score at least four points, led by a dozen from Alex Karaban. “You shoot 55 percent from the field, you hold them to 40, you go plus-13 on the glass, and your depth shows up.”

“The only way you’re able to sleep at night this time of year is if you’re playing as close to bulletproof basketball as possible…you shoot a high percentage, you don’t turn the ball over, you guard, you rebound the ball and you’ve got depth on the bench. That’s the only way you could avoid being vulnerable this time of year. It all showed up for us tonight, except the last two minutes.”

UConn actually spotted Villanova an 8-4 head start in the opening minutes as Tarris Reed, Jr. and Tyler Perkins accounted for all the initial offense, with Perkins draining a pair of threes and exploiting Solo Ball on the defensive end. Hurley quickly inserted Jayden Ross to plug the hole on the perimeter, and the junior paid dividends.

“J-Ross came in and immediately fixed our defense,” Hurley raved. “Perkins was destroying us to start the game. We made some mistakes. I thought J-Ross came in and did a good job of trying to get him under control.”

“Big-time spark for us,” Ball added with regard to Ross. “I think we really played off his defensive energy in that first half. We were starting to get stops, and he came in and did what he does best, and that’s just defend. He provides so much for us, just the way he’s able to shoot the three and defend.”

Villanova would hold a 30-27 lead in the final stages of the first half, but seven straight Husky points gave the visitors the lead for good. The Wildcats pulled within two points going to halftime, but were no match for UConn out of the locker room as a Mullins three ignited a 13-2 run that head coach Kevin Willard chalked up to veteran experience and a myriad of weapons.

“They’re an older team,” he said of the Huskies. “They can impose their will on you at times. I think the biggest thing is that you’re so worried about Mullins and Karaban, and then, oh, by the way, you’ve got Solo Ball. They’re a veteran team, they’ve been together. You have to give UConn credit for playing really good, really physical and hard. We went some stretches that we had some lineups that probably were self-inflicted by me, to be honest with you.”

UConn ballooned its advantage to as many as 21 points with just under five minutes to play, and kept the margin at 17 before Villanova scored the game’s last seven points to make the final score more cosmetically pleasing.

The Huskies now await a titanic showdown on Wednesday, when Big East leader St. John’s makes its way to Hartford eyeing a fourth straight win over its archrival. But regardless of whether it is the Johnnies or anyone else standing before them, the elder statesman among the UConn players recognized this effort for the importance of showing up and doing what they do best.

“I think we were just able to play our style of basketball,” Karaban said. “We definitely suffered a loss that was hard on everybody, but the only way to respond is (by) playing the basketball that we know how to play. We just want to take it one step at a time and really just hold each other accountable to the level that we can play to.”

Villanova’s second loss to UConn is more of a teaching moment than a letdown

By Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick)

PHILADELPHIA — Kevin Willard’s young Villanova Wildcats found out what it was like to play against a veteran opponent for the second time in the round robin format of the Big East.

Villanova trailed by just two points going into halftime. Just minutes into the second half, that deficit had ballooned to double digits. Then, a veteran UConn group that has played way more basketball together than Villanova has took over, and controlled the second half.

A 13-2 run in the opening minutes of the second half gave the Huskies a lead they would never relinquish, and one Villanova never really cut into en route to a 73-63 UConn win. 

Villanova has had a better mentality on the road as opposed to playing at home in front of its own fans, who filled every seat at Xfinity Mobile Arena Saturday night. Willard just hasn’t seen the same urgency that his team has shown walking into someone else’s building. 

“On the road, we have a much different mentality,” he said. “We’ve really struggled at home at times, just playing well for good stretches. Some of it is a little bit of youth.”

The last time the Wildcats played at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the game followed the same script. A little over a month ago, Villanova trailed St. John’s by one point at the half. Then Rick Pitino’s squad used a 20-4 run to dig Villanova a hole it could never climb out of. In the St. John’s game, and on Saturday night, it was a veteran team that came out of the halftime break with more intensity, throwing the first punch that ultimately led to a win. 

“The way we came out in the second half was kind of disappointing,” Willard said. “That’s both times that we’ve played here that we’ve come out that way. St. John’s kind of jumped us at the beginning of the second half, and UConn did the same thing. Give them a lot of credit, they came out and were really physical with us. They got into us and had us on our heels a little bit offensively. They’re an older team, they can impose their will on you at times.”

After committing just three turnovers in the first half, Villanova committed four in the first four minutes of the second half to help spark UConn’s 13-2 run. It’s hard to beat UConn when you hand the Huskies ten points off of giveaways, on a night where Dan Hurley’s crew shot over 50 percent from the field in both halves. All nine Huskies that checked into Saturday evening’s contest scored. A very good offensive team like the one UConn has is even more of a headache to deal with when everyone is a threat to score.

“You’re so worried about (Braylon) Mullins and (Alex) Karaban, and then, oh, by the way, you got Solo Ball,” Willard explained. “They’re a veteran team, they’ve been together. You’ve gotta give Mullins a lot of credit for going into this group and really complementing that group. That’s a group that’s been together. (Silas) Demary, I just think he runs their offense really well. He just doesn’t try to do too much, makes the plays.”

Willard was pleased with the intensity that his team came out with for part of the first half, forcing eight UConn turnovers that turned into ten points for the Wildcats. That kept them within a possession of UConn at the half despite the Huskies shooting nearly 58 percent from the field. With about four-and-a-half minutes left in the first half, UConn’s Silas Demary, Jr. committed his fifth turnover of the first half. That turned into two Villanova points after Matt Hodge tipped in a missed layup by the Wildcats’ Malachi Palmer. Villanova led 30-27, and Hurley called a timeout. The sellout crowd got loud and rose to its feet. Villanova just never gave the fans too much to cheer about the rest of the game. Willard’s team just couldn’t capitalize on the environment. 

“I think Matt had a three in the corner and missed,” the coach lamented. “We had a couple shots, (Devin Askew) had an open shot that he missed that, you gotta make against a UConn. You’ve gotta take advantage of the building, and the students were unbelievable. We just couldn’t take advantage of that, which kind of put us in a hole.”

Willard has been through the rigors of the Big East plenty of times before. He knows what the second game of a round robin looks like. They’re far from a beauty contest, especially when you have a veteran team like UConn that played an overtime game against you, and a coaching staff that has eyes on you every night.

“Every once in a while, you get your ass kicked,” Willard conceded. “Since we play round robin, the second time around, it’s going to be brutal. I think that’s why veteran teams really kind of excel in this league, because you play true round robin.”

Willard doesn’t want his young team to hang its head after a loss like the one his Wildcats took Saturday evening, but he knows they won’t. They’ve bounced back before. They went to Ann Arbor to play an undefeated Michigan team back in December and got trounced by 28 points by the Wolverines, who were pulverizing every opponent in front of them. Villanova responded by winning five straight. His team has been here before.

“We’ve been through it before, when we played at Michigan and got our ass kicked,” said Hodge. We’ve been through it. We just gotta stick together. We still got a long season left.”

Hines wills Seton Hall to bounce-back win over Georgetown

Najai Hines’ 12 points and 10 rebounds propelled Seton Hall past Georgetown Saturday. (Photo by Gabe Rhodes/Seton Hall Athletics)

By Jason Guerette (@JPGuerette)

NEWARK, N.J. — College basketball can be a weird game sometimes.

With 23 seconds to play at Prudential Center between Seton Hall and Georgetown on Saturday night, Hoyas leading scorer K.J. Lewis’ second free throw hit the rim a couple times, then came to a dead stop on the flange that connected it to the backboard. Down by two, Georgetown had the possession arrow, and got a chance to steal a game on the road.

But the basketball gods smiled on an exhausted Pirate team, and thanks to Najai Hines and some stingy defense down the stretch, Seton Hall won the war of attrition, 51-47, getting back in the win column in front of 9,055 fans on its home court.

At a time in the season when everyone in college basketball on every team is at the very least banged up, and at worst, completely drained, this contest was an ultimate exercise in survival. The forecast called for blizzard conditions in the New York area about 24 hours after tipoff, but the opening 10 minutes or so made it feel like the snow was already falling. Neither team could throw the ball into the Hackensack River to begin the game, but it was the Hoyas who found a way to finally get things going, using a 16-1 first half run to take control.

When they finally were able to make shots, as we’ve seen with Seton Hall so many times before, Georgetown threw on a press to slow its opponent down, then fell back into a 2-3 zone defense that stagnated the offense and led to a stretch of over six minutes without a basket for the Pirates. 

“We had a quick practice, but we went through it and we knew they were going to play it,” head coach Shaheen Holloway said of facing the zone. “Give them credit, they did a really good job of keeping our guys out of the lane. They kept going, after the third pass, fourth pass, going to man (defense), and our guys didn’t really make the adjustment like we were supposed to, because we knew they were going to do that. We got complacent, and I thought that was what got us in the first half.”

That complacency led to Seton Hall settling for three-point shots over the zone, and its 0-for-13 showing from three in the first half would have sunk many teams, but given the tenor of this old-time Big East rock fight, the Pirates were only down seven points at the break.

In the second half, Seton Hall began chipping away, thanks in large part to Hines. The freshman big man has struggled down the stretch after a hot start to his career, but he was clearly more adept in the contest than starting center Stephon Payne, who continues to battle through ankle trouble. What resulted was Hines’ biggest game in over a month, as he put up 12 points and 10 rebounds for what amounted to a gigantic double-double. 

Holloway had to manage his minutes carefully after an early third personal foul, but credit Hines for making that process easier by not picking up a fourth. When all was said and done, Hines’ plus-16 rating in the box score was more than double that of the next closest player on either team.

“His spurts were good because it wasn’t a running game,” Holloway said of his freshman big man’s efforts. “It’s different when you play against Creighton, all these teams that want to score 80-90 points. Us and (Georgetown), we just grind it out, so it was good that there wasn’t a lot of running, to be honest with you. I’ve told you guys before: We need him to play like this to be successful. We need this juice.”

While Hines was giving the Pirates plenty of juice to come back in the game, they got to the doorstep of the lead many times after halftime before finally breaking through with just under six minutes to play, at 45-44, on a Hines free throw. The two teams went back and forth for a little bit, with an acrobatic Lewis tip-in followed by a Hines dunk, making the score 49-46 with 4:22 left.

That would be the last basket either team scored, as from there, it was an epic battle of wills. Neither team could hit the big shot it needed despite their best efforts, ultimately leading to the Hoyas receiving that golden opportunity after the stuck free throw by Lewis, after which Ed Cooley called his final timeout. But Georgetown turned it over on a Vince Iwuchukwu drive, and the Pirates were able to salt the game away from there.

“That definitely wasn’t the play,” Cooley said of the crucial possession. “It was designed drive to the basket for Caleb (Williams) on his left hand or a second-side three. So it was designed for either a two, or, if they over-help, a ten-toed three. But that’s not how it ended."

Cooley would sum up the game as one that “made (James) Naismith turn over in his grave.” Holloway echoed those sentiments when asked about how his Pirates came out with the victory as well.

“Just dug deep,” the Seton Hall coach said. “Found a way to win, made some plays when we had to make them. I think what it says about our team is after the disappointing loss we had the other day, guys were just trying to figure out a way, no matter what, to win a game.”

Indeed, to emerge victorious while going 0-for-18 from three-point range as a team takes some doing. The last time Seton Hall failed to make a three in a game was over 17 years ago, on January 25, 2009. Coincidentally, it was also at home against Georgetown, and even more coincidentally, it came in a game the Pirates won, 65-60, over the then-15th-ranked Hoyas. 

Heading into a much-needed bye week in its schedule after playing three games in seven days, that’s the kind of weird history Seton Hall loves to see repeat itself.

Queens honors standard-bearing seniors, achieves program history in Saturday victory

Queens seniors Nas Mann (1), Chris Ashby (11), and Gus Larson (7) pose with coach Grant Leonard before Saturday's victory.  (Photo:  Brian Wilmer/Daly Dose of Hoops)

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CHARLOTTE – On a cloudy Saturday afternoon in the Queen City, there was a love story going on inside Curry Arena.

It wasn’t anything to do with Valentine’s Day or sappy movies. Instead, Queens fans got one final chance to show their love for a trio of seniors with some of the most important entries in the Royals’ history books.

Oh, and those seniors? They got in on the love, as well.

Senior Nas Mann booked a career-high 26 points and hauled in 10 caroms for his fourth career double-double to guide four Royals in double figures. Queens also got a little getback from its first ASUN loss of the season, fending off a tough West Georgia squad, 91-84, on Senior Day.

“Hats off to West Georgia. The transition (from Division II to Division I) is incredibly difficult,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said. “I think that they have an unbelievable team. (Forward) Shelton Williams-Dryden is a heck of a player and they have other guys that are really good, too. I was really proud of our effort, especially defensively and with the gameplan.”

The Royals and Wolves were in for a showdown almost from the opening jump. Queens (17-12, 12-4 ASUN) took an early lead and quickly stretched the lead to six. The Royals held that lead until West Georgia scored seven of nine to square the contest at 21. Javon Daniel then knocked home a bucket to give the Wolves their first lead of the contest.

After West Georgia led by four, the sides settled into a trade of leads that lasted until the 1:35 mark of the first half, when Mann laid one off the glass to give Queens a 37-35 lead. The Royals then went 2-for-1 at the end of the first half, getting a three from senior Chris Ashby and a Carson Schwieger layup to take a 42-39 margin to the interval.

West Georgia (12-16, 6-10 ASUN) thinly sliced the deficit to one with a Kenneth Chime bucket on the first possession of the second half. That Queens lead stayed within two possessions for the next eight minutes, as the Royals continued to counterpunch on every Wolves basket. The lead was at four with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining, before back-to-back buckets from Avantae Parker and Jordan Watford doubled the lead back to eight.

Josh Smith canned a jumper just inside five-and-a-half minutes remaining to bring West Georgia back within seven. Mann then landed a 1-2 combo that staggered the Wolves and almost put them down for the count.

Mann drove the lane with just fewer than five minutes remaining and put home a bucket through contact, putting the Royals ahead nine at 79-70. Though the free throw attempt was errant, Queens snared the board and fired to Mann on the left side of the perimeter. Mann splashed a lightly-contested triple and let out a yell as Queens seized a 12-point lead.

“In the heat of the moment, we’re really just trying to win,” Mann said of the sequence. “Every game is important, but this one just felt a little more special. My whole family’s here. It’s my last time being on the court with these guys here at Curry Arena. To hit that shot is really a dream come true, just to finish the way we just did.”

Leonard also felt the gravity of the sequence.

“It was huge. I thought that kind of like – it wasn’t the nail in the coffin, but it definitely put the top on it,” he said. “Nas has made those types of plays all year and I expect nothing less. I know Nas is going to come up with the ball when it counts and he does.”

“Sometimes, I look down and we have seven or eight guys. I don’t know who to play at the end of the games. Different guys have different strengths, but Nas has come up with a lot of winning plays. He does a lot of things that aren’t even in the stat book. I really appreciate that, and I know that was a big-time play.”

Leonard’s comment told the tale. The Royals never led by fewer than seven the rest of the way, despite the Wolves making several late charges.

The finish marked a fitting celebration for the three seniors, who all made key contributions Saturday afternoon and throughout their time as Royals. Mann tallied the double-double, while Ashby and Larson combined for 15.

As for the love story, well…all three of the seniors spoke of that, too.

Ashby found love for the Queens program. The Texas native described Queens as “home” and talked Saturday afternoon about the place he chose to stay to pursue this exact type of season, instead of leaving for greener – financially or otherwise – pastures.

“(Queens) just means a lot to me,” Ashby said. “Coming out of junior college, I didn’t really have a lot of coaches believing in me. Queens and Coach Grant were the only ones that did. I really appreciate them for that.”

“Not a lot of guys can say they have a home. I’m very appreciative for the coaching staff. I’ve made a lot of friends here in Charlotte, and my teammates…I love them.”

For Larson and Mann, they found their love for the game. Both came from situations that left them searching for that element, and Queens helped them find it.

“Queens has been a bit of a resolution,” Larson said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs with basketball. If you look at my resume, I’ve been a little bit all over the place, so I admire guys like Chris, who have been here all four years.”

“Queens has been a place that has just kind of put it all at ease. It has allowed me to really find a love and a passion for the game of basketball.”

Mann voiced a similar message.

“To me, Queens is just the place where I found my love for the game again,” Mann said. “I was falling out of love with it. I just didn’t enjoy it anymore. I really didn’t want to play anymore. I came here and met some great guys last year and this year. It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had in basketball, period.”

“I’m just so happy. I love these guys. I’m sad, but I’m not going to shed a tear. Trust me, I’m a little emotional right now.”

Leonard spoke of the impact the trio has had on Queens’ success on and off the court and its most successful Division 1 season in conference play.

“I know that we’re supposed to say we want to win games, but really, we’re supposed to build community through basketball, and to do that, you’ve got to build an environment guys want to be in,” he said. “I really believe if you do it the right way, if you build it the right way through teaching and positivity – the mission is to serve them, not (to have) them serve us. Our school mission is not to be served, but to serve. It’s been my pleasure to serve these guys.”

“It really is a huge deal that not only did they find their love for basketball here, but I really believe that that when they have kids and they’re going to show their kids where they played, it’s going to be here. That makes me proud that we did it right and that Queens did it right. It’s not just basketball, it’s the whole community. I’m just super proud of what these guys have accomplished and what they’ve been able to do.”

Mann’s 26 and 10 paced the Royals in both categories. Guard Yoav Berman and forward Avantae Parker contributed 15 apiece, combining to knock down 8-of-14 tries from the field. Jordan Watford added 14 in reserve duty, hitting 4-of-5 from the deck and 6-of-8 from the line.

Queens shot 51.7 percent from the field (30-for-58), despite hitting just 3-of-20 (15 percent) from beyond the arc. The Royals hit 77.8 percent (29-of-36) from the line. Queens committed just four turnovers in the game, leading to just seven West Georgia points.

Smith led West Georgia with 20, hitting 8-of-13 from the floor (2-of-5 from three) and 2-of-3 from the line. Chime, Williams-Dryden, and Matija Zuzic added 14 apiece, hitting a combined 15-of-31 tries from the field. Kolten Griffin booked 12 on 5-of-10 from the field.

The Wolves hit 48.5 percent (32-for-66) from the field and 30 percent (6-for-20) from three. West Georgia knocked down 73.7 percent (14-for-19) from the line.

Queens begins its final week of regular-season ASUN play Wednesday, traveling to Baptist Health Arena in Richmond, Ky., to battle Eastern Kentucky. Tip time is set for 7:00 (Eastern), with ESPN+ handling streaming coverage. West Georgia returns home to The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga., to face Lipscomb Wednesday night. ESPN+ will air the telecast beginning at 7:00.

QUEENS 91, WEST GEORGIA 84

WEST GEORGIA (12-16, 6-10 ASUN)

Hardewig 1-4 0-0 2, Williams-Dryden 6-12 2-3 14, Griffin 5-10 1-2 12, Chime 6-10 2-3 14, Noel 1-3 1-1 3, Shegog 0-0 0-0 0, Daniel 2-5 0-0 5, Zuzic 3-9 6-7 14, Smith 8-13 2-3 20. Totals 32-66 14-19 84.

QUEENS (17-12, 12-4)

Mann 10-14 5-7 26, Larson 3-3 2-2 8, Ashby 2-7 1-1 7, Schwieger 2-10 0-0 4, Berman 3-7 9-9 15, Watford 4-5 6-8 14, Henry 1-1 0-0 2, Parker 5-7 5-9 15, Jabriel 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 30-58 28-36 91.

Halftime:  Queens 42-39. 3-Point goals:  West Georgia 6-20 (Hardewig 0-3, Williams-Dryden 0-2, Griffin 1-2, Noel 0-1, Daniel 1-2, Zuzic 2-5, Smith 2-5), Queens 3-20 (Mann 1-3, Ashby 2-6, Schwieger 0-6, Berman 0-2, Watford 0-1, Jabriel 0-2). Fouled out:  NA.  Rebounds:  West Georgia 36 (Chime 11), Queens 33 (Mann 10). Total fouls:  West Georgia 23, Queens 16. Technicals:  NA.

 

Kevin Willard quote book: UConn

By Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick)

On how the game went after Villanova led 30-27 in the first half:

“I give them a lot of credit. They came out and (Braylon) Mullins hit a really good three off an ATO. Then for us, offensively, the ball wasn’t popping. The way we came out in the second half was kind of disappointing. That’s both times that we’ve played at (Xfinity Mobile Arena) that we’ve come out that way. St. John’s kind of jumped us at the beginning of the second half, and UConn did coming out. Give them a lot of credit. They came out and were really physical with us. They got into us and had us on our heels a little bit offensively.”

On UConn’s 13-2 run out of halftime, where Villanova had four turnovers in the first four minutes:

“The same thing happened against St. John’s. I think it was very deflating. Again, give them credit. They’re an older team, they can impose their will on you at times. The game (at UConn), we did a really good job of taking care of the ball. We talked about turnovers, and especially live-ball turnovers, and I think the live-ball turnovers really hurt us.”

On using his timeouts early in the second half to try to find answers:

“I ran out of timeouts.”

“On the road, we have a much different mentality. We’ve really struggled at home at times, just playing well for good stretches. Some of it is a little bit of youth. This is really only our second time playing in this building. The crowd was unbelievable. They were into it. I think some shots that we’ve been making, we were a little juiced up and we missed some shots early. We didn’t take advantage of when the crowd was going early. Sometimes it’s just when guys don’t have it going, or they got into us pretty good. We missed a couple layups, missed a couple free throws, and it just snowballs.”

On his message to the team about handling a game like this and moving forward:

“Every once in a while, you get your ass kicked. I think the last one we had was Michigan. We bounced back really well against them. We’ve been playing good basketball. You’ve just got to bounce back. It’s not the end of the world. That’s a good basketball team. They’re coming off a tough loss against Creighton. I thought their defensive intensity was so much different than it was against Creighton. I think them being on the road was probably good for them at this point. Sometimes you come off a tough home loss, you go on the road, and you can really find a way. I think Danny did a great job with his team with that.”

On if Duke Brennan was hurt:

“Duke had to go against Tarris Reed. He’s fine. Duke’s been battling. He’s probably a little worn down just battling the guys he’s had to battle and doing the things he’s doing.”

On UConn’s defensive intensity:

“He doesn’t get a lot of credit for his defense, but Tarris Reed, he’s a very smart basketball player as a center. He knew like four or five of our play calls and actually jumped plays where you don’t see centers do that very much. He really did a good job. When he played the way he played tonight, they’re going to be tough to beat. Obviously, he can get a bucket anytime down low, but I thought defensively, he was just phenomenal. I just thought that he was jumping our high-post action, his pick-and-roll defense was really smart. He was hedging on the guys he wanted to hedge. He didn’t hedge on other guys. They’re diving on Acaden’s pick-and-rolls, so he wasn’t hedging that. (Silas) Demary didn’t have a great night offensively, but he’s as good as any guard in this league. He just runs their stuff really well. But I think defensively, Reed had a heck of a game.”

On UConn’s defense after the first media timeout in the second half:

“Probably a lack of execution on our part, but also give their guys credit for playing good defense. It’s a little bit of both probably.”

On if the second half was more self-inflicted or because of UConn’s play:

“I think it was a little bit of both. I’m a big believer in giving credit where it’s due, and you have to give UConn credit for playing really good, really physical and hard. We went some stretches that we had some lineups that probably were self-inflicted by me, to be honest with you. There just wasn’t a lot of foul calls for like, long stretches, so we got caught with some lineups that probably hurt us a little bit more than it has in the past.”

On Silas Demary, Jr.’s play:

“I just kind of talked about that. I think he’s a really, really good player, he runs their team. I think I just said that before. So just go back to that one. He’s a really good player.”

On UConn’s offensive performance:

“I think the biggest thing is that you’re so worried about Mullins and (Alex) Karaban, and then, oh, by the way, you got Solo Ball. They’re a veteran team, they’ve been together. You’ve got to give Mullins a lot of credit for going into this group and really complementing that group. That’s a group that’s been together. Again, Demary, I just think he runs their offense really well, like he just doesn’t try to do too much, makes the plays. They’re good. They’re a really good team.”

On what he was pleased with in the first half:

“I thought the first half, we didn’t start off good. I think the first 10 points was just kind of things that I hate to blame it on being home, but things that we haven’t done on the road. We’ve been so much more solid on the road. I thought we came out with good intensity, and we had opportunities to kind of open up a lead, and we just couldn’t take advantage. We had a couple threes in the corner, I think Matt had a three in the corner and missed. We had a couple shots, Dev had an open shot that he missed that, you know, you gotta make against a UConn. You got to take advantage of the building, and the students were unbelievable, we just couldn’t take advantage of that, which kind of put us in a hole.”

On playing in larger venues:

“I mean, we played pretty well at Creighton. This league is really unique in the fact that we play a true round robin. Coming from the Big Ten last year, like you could play Illinois, then you might not see Illinois for another year-and-a-half. where in this league, everyone’s watching everyone every night, and everyone’s so familiar with everybody. I think the older teams take advantage of that. That’s what I’ve always thought about the Big East. Really difficult league games, and we don’t have a bottom. It’s like top, then middle. We don’t have like, six teams that are 1-13, 1-14. Since we play round robin, the second time around, it’s going to be brutal. They're a veteran team. I thought that Tarris Reed did a phenomenal job on his pick-and-roll defense. He made a great adjustment from the first game. We hit Duke a lot in the first game, we couldn’t hit Duke in the second game. I think that’s what veteran teams really kind of excel in this league, because you play true round robin.”