– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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WASHINGTON — Seton Hall star guard Myles Powell was blunt when explaining the Pirates’ only conference loss of the season, a game in which they fell behind 26-8 before losing by 12 this past Saturday.
“Sometimes, you need a good ass-kicking,” is what Powell said just moments after the Pirates completed tonight’s game in which they were the ones to deliver a swift kick in the rear to their opponent on their way to widening their lead in the Big East Conference.
Powell scored 34 points, six of those coming during a game-opening 16-0 run, as the Pirates held on late to defeat Georgetown 78-71 at Capital One Arena on Wednesday evening. Jared Rhoden added 12 points while point guard Quincy McKnight chipped in with eight points and 10 assists in just 21 minutes of action.
The Pirates'(17-5, 9-1 Big East) best-ever start to a Big East season came to a screeching halt in Newark last weekend when an exceedingly poor start cost them in a 74-62 home defeat to Xavier. Given three whole days to stew over its first loss in 2020, the Pirates opened tonight by hitting their first four shots – two three-pointers each by Powell and Rhoden -in taking the crowd out of the game before it got a chance to settle into their seats.
The lead ballooned to 16-0 before a Jahvon Blair layup at 16:17 finally put the Hoyas on the board.
Powell continued his hot hand throughout the first half, going 7-for-15 from the field on his way to a 21-point first half with five rebounds.
The Hoyas, playing without leading scorer Mac McClung for a second straight game due to a foot injury, almost completed another furious comeback to build off their win at St. John’s after overcoming a 17-point deficit. Blair’s three-pointer with 4:15 remaining cut the Hoyas’ deficit to 69-65, but the Hoyas next two possessions resulted in a missed shot and a turnover, and that was the closest they came before the Pirates put away the game late.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Wednesday evening’s game, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 16 pictures in total.
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