Seton Hall University
7-4,0-0Big East
Maryland
10-2,1-1Big Ten
Pirate Defense Smothers No. 7 Maryland, 52-48
12/19/2019 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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The Pirates' defense held the Terrapins to 26.9% shooting from the floor, which stands as the seventh-lowest shooting percentage against The Hall since 1996. The Pirates also forced 17 Maryland turnovers and recorded a season-high 15 blocked shots. Both Gill and Obiagu blocked six shots apiece.
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Senior Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) had a fantastic game, scoring 12 of his game-high 17 points in the second half. The point guard also had a pair of clutch three-point plays with under seven minutes remaining and iced the game with a pair of free-throws with only a second left. McKnight also had a season-high eight rebounds to go with six assists.
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Sophomore Anthony Nelson (New York, N.Y.) finished with a season-high 10 points to go with four assists. Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) had eight points and matched his career-high with 12 rebounds.
The Hall's tremendous effort came despite the absence of its two leading scorers. Both preseason All-American Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tsbili, Georgia) were missing from the lineup due to injury.
😤😤😤#HALLin pic.twitter.com/9BRaErAAyd
— Seton Hall Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 20, 2019
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What Happened:
Trailing early, Seton Hall went on an 8-0 run, and a three-pointer by Rhoden gave it a 10-4 lead with 14:03 left in the opening half. After made three-pointer by Maryland's Anthony Cowan, the Pirates took off again with a 10-0 burst. With 4:14 left before the break, Gill slammed home a pretty inside pass from McKnight to give The Hall a 20-7 lead, and force a Terrapins timeout.
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Maryland used an 8-0 run late in the first half to cut into its deficit, but the Pirates scored four of the final six points before halftime, and a floater in the lane by Nelson at the buzzer sent them into the locker room with a 27-18 advantage.
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The Terrapins netted the first bucket of the second half, but the Pirates responded with the next seven points, and three-pointer by Rhoden gave The Hall a 34-20 lead with 17:24 left to play. After that however, Seton Hall's offense went cold. The Pirates mustered only one made field goal, a breakaway dunk by McKnight, over the next 6:45. Still, because The Hall's defense remained stout, the Terrapins could only cut their deficit to as few as nine points during that stretch. Â
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Maryland cut Seton Hall's lead to seven points with 7:30 left, but McKnight responded with a three-point play on the Pirates' next possession. Then, off a missed Maryland shot, McKnight found a streaking Myles Cale for a fast-break layup to put The Hall on top, 43-31, and send the Terrapins to another timeout with 6:18 to go.
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Trailing 47-39 with 2:40 remaining, Maryland crept back primarily from the free-throw line to cut their deficit to only two points with three seconds left. Maryland's Cowan missed the third of three free-throws, McKnight got the rebound, and iced the game with a pair of made shots from the line on the other end.
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Inside the Numbers:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- Seton Hall was 19-for-51 (37.3%) from the floor for the game, while Maryland was 14-for-52 (26.9%). The Hall was 5-for-20 (25.0%) from three-point range, while the Terrapins were 5-for-21 (23.8%). Maryland's field goal percentage ranks as the seventh-lowest Seton Hall has allowed since 1996.
- Maryland out-rebounded Seton Hall, 42-to-33. The Terrapins had the advantage on offensive rebounds, 12-to-5, and second-chance points, 12-to-4.
- Seton Hall was 9-for-15 (60.0%) from the free-throw line, while the Terrapins were 15-for-20 (75.0%).
- The Hall forced 17 Maryland turnovers, while the Terrapins forced 14 Pirate turnovers.
- Seton Hall dominated Maryland in the paint, out-scoring them 26-to-16. The Hall also had more fast-break points, 11-to-3.
- McKnight had a game-high 17 points to go with a season-high eight rebounds and six assists.
- Nelson finished with a season-high 10 points to go with four assists.
- Rhoden had eight points and matched his career-high with a game-best 12 rebounds.
- Both Gill and Obiagu had six blocks apiece.
- The victory improves Seton Hall to 7-4 on the season, and drops Maryland to 10-2.
- No. 7 Maryland is represents the highest-ranked team Seton Hall has defeated since downing No. 3 Villanova in the 2016 BIG EAST Championship game.
- The Pirates now have 22 wins over AP ranked teams in head coach Kevin Willard's tenure.
- This was Seton Hall's third game against a team ranked in the AP Top-12 in its first 11 games so far this season. The victory is the Pirates 87th all-time against a team ranked in the AP Top-25. It's their fifth victory over a team ranked No. 7.
- The Pirates improve to 4-2 all-time against Maryland, while Willard improves to 8-5 against teams from the Big Ten during his Seton Hall tenure.
- Seton Hall is now 130-60 all-time at the Prudential Center, including a 71-11 mark in non-conference games.
- Seton Hall improves to 89-13 when its lead gets to seven or more points during a game.
- Both Gill and Obiagu tied Seton Hall's Prudential Center record for blocks in a game.
- After limiting the Terps to 18 points in the first half, this was the first time Seton Hall held a team under 20 points for a half since last season Dec. 10 game vs. New Hampshire when the Wildcats scored only 19.
Seton Hall will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 22, when it completes the non-conference portion of its schedule with a game against Prairie View A&M at the Prudential Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised on FS1 with Brian Custer and Jim Spanarkel while Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will call it on the radio on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.
