Mamukelashvili Records Double-Double, Pirates Hang Tough at Louisville

Friday, November 27

Louisville, Ky.

4 p.m.

Seton Hall University

0-1,0-0Big East

Louisville

2-0,0-0ACC

Seton Hall

Louisville

Mamukelashvili Records Double-Double, Pirates Hang Tough at Louisville

11/27/2020 7:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

Louisville, Ky. - The Seton Hall men's basketball team and Louisville battled for 40 tough minutes, leading by one with 40 seconds remaining, but JJ Traynor's late second-chance basket lifted the Cardinals to a 71-70 win over the Pirates Friday at KFC Yum! Center. Today represented Seton Hall's first game action in 265 days while also coming off a 14-day COVID-19 pause.

Senior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) led the Pirates with 22 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth career double-double. Senior Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) dropped in 11 points, and junior Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Turning Point
With only four days of practice in the last 18 days, a mid-game injury to Bryce Aiken and immense foul trouble, the Pirates found themselves down by 11 points, 60-49, with 8:24 remaining in the game.

However, as usual, this Pirates group had no intention of going down quietly. Reynolds Jr., immediately cut into the deficit with a three-pointer, and then The Hall buckled down on defense getting stops on its next five possessions. Rhoden hit a big three with 6:44 to go, and junior Ike Obiagu (Abuja, Nigeria) had a big slam dunk to make it 60-59. Mamukelashvili tied the game with a free throw with 4:49 left.

The two teams traded blows down the stretch, and Rhoden gave the Pirates the 68-67 edge with 40 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws. The Pirates went zone on defense to trap, but Louisville's Traynor got into the lane, missed his first shot, got his own miss and hit the put-back to give the Cardinals a 69-68 lead.

Seton Hall missed a chance to reclaim the lead, Traynor hit a pair of free throws to go up three, and the Pirates only hit two of three free throws at the end as Louisville held on.

Inside the Numbers

Seton Hall shot 33.3 percent for the game, 26.1 percent from three and 74.1 percent from the free throw line. Louisville was 43.1 percent overall, 14.3 percent from downtown and 79.2 percent at the charity stripe.
The Pirates out-rebounded the Cardinals, 43-41, and used 16 offensive rebounds to generate 12 second chance points.
Louisville had the advantage in paint points, 40-26.
Both teams only committed nine turnovers.
Mamukelashvili recorded his eighth career double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. It also marks his second 20 & 10 game of his career; he had 20 points and 10 boards against Villanova on March 4, 2020.
Rhoden contributed nicely with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.
Reynolds Jr., making his second career start, posted 11 points, three assists and only one turnover in 29 minutes of action.

News & Notes

Seton Hall falls to 6-15 all-time against Louisville. The Pirates had beaten the Cardinals at KFC Yum! Center three years ago.
Over the last three matchups between these two teams, of which Louisville has won twice, the scoring margin between them is a combined four points.
Under head coach Kevin Willard, the Pirates are now 6-3 against programs from the ACC.
This was Seton Hall's first loss in a season-opening game since Willard's first season in 2010-11 when the Pirates lost at Temple.
Aiken, junior Takal Molson (Buffalo, N.Y.) and freshman Jahari Long (Houston, Texas) all made their Seton Hall debuts.

Up Next
Seton Hall's next scheduled game is on Wednesday, Dec. 2 when the Pirates will face Rhode Island at Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I. The 7 p.m., game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network, and Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will call the action on AM970 The Answer.

However, Seton Hall is currently seeking to play a game prior to visiting Rhode Island.