Mamukelashvili, Pirates Hold Off Butler, 68-60

Saturday, January 2

Newark, N.J.

4:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

8-4,5-1Big East

Butler

2-5,1-3Big East

Butler

Seton Hall

1/2/2021 6:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

NEWARK, N.J. – Senior Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) finished with team-highs of 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists and the Seton Hall men's basketball team held off Butler, 68-60, at Prudential Center on Saturday.

The victory is the Pirates' seventh in their last eight games and improves them to 5-1 in BIG EAST contests. Seton Hall is now 5-1 or better to start BIG EAST play for just the fourth time in program history, joining the 1992-93, 1999-00 and 2019-20 squads.

Mamukelashvili scored his 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. Junior Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) added 19 points on an efficient 7-for-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds.

What Happened:
The Pirates started the game cold from the field, connecting on just one of their first six shots as Butler built an early 8-3 advantage. A three-pointer by Mamukelashvili cut the Bulldog lead to 13-11, but Butler responded with five straight points, including a deep trifecta by Myles Tate, to put them on top, 18-11, with 11:38 left in the first half.

With 5:55 to play before halftime, Mamukelashvili gathered a loose ball and found a cutting Rhoden, who laid it in to give The Hall its first lead of the game, 21-20. The Hall found its shooting touch late, going 5-for-5 from the field in the waning minutes of the first half. A three-pointer by Mamukelashvili with seven seconds to go capped a 21-5 burst and sent the Pirates into the locker room with a 34-25 lead. In the final 9:30 of the half, Seton Hall held Butler to 2-for-8 shooting and three turnovers.

A steal in the backcourt and an uncontested layup by Rhoden gave The Hall a commanding 47-35 lead with 12:20 left in the game, but then its offense stalled. The Pirates went on a scoring drought over the next 4:49, which allowed Butler to cut its deficit to just one point, until senior Shavar Reynolds, Jr. (Manchester, N.J.) restored order with a deep trifecta off a smart kickout pass from sophomore Tyrese Samuel (Montreal, Quebec).

Twice more Butler cut the Pirate lead to a single point, but The Hall was able to stave off the Bulldogs late. A big three-pointer by Myles Cale (Wilmington, Del.) with 2:26 remaining boosted the Pirates' lead back to five and The Hall was able to hold off Butler by shooting well from the free-throw line.

Here's all of the 🎥 you need from our fifth BIG EAST win of the season!#HALLin 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/sWzFcr0wOp
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) January 3, 2021

Inside the Numbers:

The teams were nearly identical from the field. Seton Hall was 22-for-48 (45.8%) from the floor for the game, while Butler was 22-for-49 (44.9%). The Hall was 7-for-24 (29.2%) from three-point range, while the Bulldogs were 11-for-22 (50.0%).
The Hall out-rebounded Butler, 33-to-25, with an edge on the offensive glass, 8-to-5. The Pirates had an 11-to-0 advantage in second-chance points.
Seton Hall was 17-for-20 (85.0%) from the free-throw line, while the Bulldogs were 5-for-9 (55.6%).
The Hall forced more turnovers, 13-to-12, and had more points off turnovers, 18-to-13.
Mamukelashvili had a game-high 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. He also had a team-best nine rebounds and six assists.
Rhoden finished with 19 points on an efficient 7-for-11 shooting to go with seven rebounds.
Reynolds Jr. added 10 points and three assists with zero turnovers in nearly 27 minutes.

News & Notes:

The victory improves Seton Hall to 8-4 overall and 5-1 in BIG EAST play, while Butler drops to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in conference play. The Pirates have now won seven of their last eight games overall.
Seton Hall improves to 8-9 all-time against Butler and has won seven of the last nine games in the series.
Seton Hall has started BIG EAST play 5-1 or better now for the fourth time in program history, joining the 2019-20, 1999-00 and 1992-93 teams.
Mamukelashvili reached 20 points for the sixth time this season and the ninth time of his career. Today was also his 100^th career game played.
Seton Hall is now 142-64 (.689) all-time at Prudential Center. Since 2015-16, the Pirates are 35-15 (.700) against BIG EAST competition in the building.
Seton Hall improved to a perfect 8-0 this season when outshooting its opponent.
The Pirates are now 108-14 (.885) since the start of the 2015-16 season when leading by seven points or more at any point of the game.
Mamukelashvili has moved up to 60th all-time in Seton Hall scoring history, now standing at 851 points.
Cale moved into 68th place with 816 career points.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Wednesday, January 6 when it travels to Omaha, Neb. for a contest at Creighton. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m., Eastern, and the game will be televised nationally on FS1. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on WMCA 570 AM, simulcast on XM 385, the Pirate Sports Network and TuneIn.