– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY — In a game that the Seton Hall Pirates simply could not afford to lose in their pursuit for an NCAA Tournament bid, local product Al-Amir Dawes continued to put himself in the right positions all game to ensure the Pirates came away with the victory.
Dawes scored 20 points, including making three of Seton Hall’s four three-pointers in the game, as the Pirates defeated Georgetown 76-68 at the Prudential Center on Tuesday night. Tyrese SAmuel produced a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while guard Kadary Richmond netted 14 points.
Dawes scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, with four of those points coming during a 7-0 run midway through the second half that gave the Pirates a 45-30 lead.
The Hoyas cut the lead down to four in the final minute on a Jay Heath three-pointer with 37 seconds remaining, but then the Pirates made all six of their free throws afterward to seal the victory.
The win vaulted the Pirates’ record in Big East play to 9-7, one more win away from ensuring a non-losing season in conference play, which would be a big boost to Seton Hall’s chances at securing an at-large big into the NCAA Tournament. Getting that win is going to be a daunting task, as three of the Pirates’ final four games of the season are against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and amongst the leaders in the Big East standings: at No. 20 Connecticut this Saturday, home to No. 16 Xavier next Friday and the season finale in Providence on Mar. 4 against the No. 24 Friars.
In between, Seton Hall will have its senior da on Tuesday Feb. 28 against Villanova.
Primo Spears led the Hoyas with 16 points, though he shot just 6-for-19 from the field. Georgetown was undone by the major disparity at the free throw line, as the Hoyas, while shooting a sterling 16-for-18 from the free throw lone, saw the Pirates make more free throws than they took, with Seton Hall going 28-for-37 (75.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday’s game, with all photos taken by ALOST photographer Jenny Rohl. 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 12 pictures in total.
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