– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY — Seton Hall basketball has been tight-roping the line between NCAA Tournament inclusion and NIT-bound disappointment since the start of the new year, with the epitome of their balancing act coming near the conclusion of Saturday evening’s latest barnburner, when a free throw that would have pushed the Pirates closer to the edge of the cliff teetered and tottered on the rim … and then just sat motionless on the cylinder in near suspended animation.
But despite Seton Hall’s weebles and wobbles all game long — and the free throw that couldn’t decide what to do was finally resolved — the Pirates didn’t fall down as their Big Dance hopes are still standing — though on admittedly tired legs.
Najai Hines came off the bench and recorded a double-double, yet his tight man defense led to a crucial steal late in the game that sealed Seton Hall’s 51-47 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas inside the Prudential Center on Saturday. The victory moved the Pirates (19-9, 9-8 Big East) back above the .500 mark in conference play after a disappointing showing on Wednesday in a home defeat against DePaul.
In a game that Georgetown coach Ed Cooley described as one that “James Naismith would be rolling over in his grave,” both teams shot less than 31 percent from the field. Despite the horrid shooting, the Hoyas held the lead for most of the game — and a 27-20 advantage at halftime — before the Pirates, who missed all 18 of their attempts from three-point territory in the game, rallied mainly on the strength of their defense and second-chance opportunities.
With 22 seconds remaining, the Hoyas’ KJ Lewis, after making the first of two free throws to cut Seton Hall’s lead to 49-47, saw his second foul shot spin around the rim before coming to a stop on the heel of the basket. The ensuing jump ball gave the ball back to Georgetown, but Vincent Iwuchukwu lost the ball on his drive to the basket while being defended tightly by Hines. Bud Clark was fouled after Seton Hall gained possession and made two free throws to extend the lead to what became the final margin.
Saturday’s contest marked the fourth game in the past 11 days for the Pirates, and head coach Shaheen Holloway made no secret of his dismay with the conference scheduling with his comments soon after Seton Hall’s win last Sunday in Indianapolis against Butler. He also believes that, despite the perception of the Big East as having a down year given there are only two surefire NCAA Tournament teams at the moment (Connecticut, St. John’s), that his team has done enough at this juncture to warrant a bid to the Big Dance.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Dale Horton. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 18 pictures in total.
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