Pirates Force OT, but Providence Comes Away With Win, 80-77

Sunday, December 20

Newark, N.J.

4:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

5-4,2-1Big East

Providence

5-2,1-0Big East

OT 1

Providence

Seton Hall

Pirates Force OT, but Providence Comes Away With Win, 80-77

12/20/2020 9:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

NEWARK, N.J. - Senior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) forced overtime with a traditional three-point play with under nine seconds left in regulation, but the Seton Hall men's basketball team couldn't convert in the extra period as Providence's A.J. Reeves hit a game-winning three with 3.1 seconds remaining to lift the Friars past the Pirates, 80-77, Sunday evening at Prudential Center.

The loss snapped Seton Hall's four game-winning streak as the Pirates dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in BIG EAST play.

Mamukelashvili was one of four Pirates in double-figure scoring, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. Senior Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) scored 16 points and made four three-pointers, junior Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) added 16 points, and senior Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) posted 12 points.

Turning Point
Seton Hall was up nine points, 49-40, early in the second half, but was unable to pull away; a cold spell on offense led to only two points in a six-minute span. Providence went on a 14-2 run, punctuated by back-to-back Nate Watson buckets and a David Duke layup at 11:03 to put the Friars on top, 54-51.

Providence held the lead for the rest of the half until the very end. Duke hit a pair of free throws to make it 72-69. Then Mamukelashvili inbounded the ball to Reynolds, Jr., who tossed it to Cale, who then tossed back to a sprinting Mamukelashvili. The senior star then took the ball straight to the rack for a dunk and a foul. The free throw tied the game at 72-72, and Providence was unable to convert before the buzzer.

In overtime, Mamukelashvili again got a three-point play to go with 2:43 left to tie the game again at 77-77. However, on the next five possessions, Seton Hall came up empty three times, and the Friars missed twice. That set the scene for Providence to have last shot. Duke took the ball to the baseline and was met by three Pirates defenders. He kicked out to Reeves, who sank the wide-open three with 3.1 seconds to go. Seton Hall had a good look at the buzzer to tie, but just missed.

Inside the Numbers

Seton Hall shot 44 percent for the game (27-for-62), 33 percent from three (7-for-21) and 76 percent at the free throw line (16-for-21). Providence shot 47 percent from the floor (29-for-62), 50 percent from three (9-for-18) and 81 percent at the line (13-for-16).
Providence had more rebounds, 38-32, but the Pirates had more points in the paint, 38-34.
The Pirates capitalized on the Friars' turnovers, scoring 18 points off PC's 15 giveaways.
Mamukelashvili led The Hall with 20 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field and 8-for-12 from the free throw line. He also had six rebounds and six assists.
Cale buried four three-pointers on the night en route to a 16-point game, matching his season high.
Rhoden scored 16 points and now has eclipsed 15 points in a game five times this season.
Reynolds, Jr. made a pair of threes and finished with 12 points.
Junior Ike Obiagu (Abuja, Nigeria) grabbed a season-high nine rebounds.

News & Notes

Providence now leads the all-time series, 55-53, but the Pirates are still ahead in regular season BIG EAST games, 36-32.
The loss snaps a five-game home winning streak vs. the Friars. PC's last win at Prudential Center came in March 2015.
This was the 11th all-time overtime game between Seton Hall and Providence. The Friars have the edge there, 7-4. The Pirates had won the two previous OT games in 2013 and 2017.
This was Seton Hall's third BIG EAST game in the month of December, tying the 1998-99 team for most conference games played before the New Year.
The Pirates are now 105-14 (.882) since the start of 2015-16 when leading by seven or more points at any juncture of the game. Seton Hall's last loss in this scenario had come at Iowa State last season.

Up Next
Seton Hall will look to rebound Wednesday evening when it hosts Georgetown in BIG EAST action at Prudential Center. The FS1 national telecast will tip off at 5 p.m., with Joe Davis and Jim Jackson. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will carry the radio broadcast on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on XM 385, the Pirate Sports Network and TuneIn.