, and I thought they did a good job in the second half of picking up their energy a little bit.'' It was roughly 24 hours earlier that Seton Hall (5-2) was up 19 in the second half on No. 11 Oregon and poised to move into the winners' bracket, only to squander that lead and lose on a late basket.This time, facing a team picked to finish last in Conference USA, Seton Hall found itself in a closer-than-expected game before halftime. And in the second half, they maintained a double-digit lead but didn't put together a big push to blow the game open until the final minutes.''With all the preseason hype that we've gotten, we've lost a little bit of what made us really tough to play against,'' he said. ''That attitude that we're always going to be hunting, we're not going to sit back and just kind of show up. ... We've just got to develop that attitude just a little bit more, even in games.'' Powell said that much was clear at halftime with Seton Hall leading 40-31 and Willard quickly breaking off his normal halftime film routine.''He started the first 5 seconds and then his blood was just rushing for how bad we played,'' Powell said.Gabe Watson had 18 points for the Golden Eagles (2-5), who kept battling much of the night before going cold down the stretch as the Pirates finally blew the game open.''At times we were overwhelmed out there with size and so forth,'' first-year coach Jay Ladner said. ''They've got an outstanding team and are very well-coached. But I was proud of our team's effort. I don't think the final score was indicative of how hard fought and tough game it was.'' BIG PICTURESeton Hall: The Pirates were playing the final of four Thanksgiving Day-games at the Atlantis resort. They led by between 12 and 16 points for much of the second half, but they didn't look much like the team that came roaring out of halftime to build the big lead on Oregon, either. Powell scored 32 points with seven 3-pointers in that game, but had a tougher shooting night this time around (5 of 15 from the field, 2 of 9 from behind the arc).Southern Miss: Ladner has talked since arriving in the Bahamas about this being a big step up in competition for a team picked to finish last in Conference USA, particularly when it comes to showing his team what top-tier programs look like up close. The first game didn't go well - a 94-69 loss to No. 8 Gonzaga - but his team did a better job of tussling with a more talented opponent.CRAMPINGSeton Hall lost starting point guard Quincy McKnight to cramping in his right leg with 12:51 left. The senior jumped to attempt a pass deflection and fell over in pain without making contact with any other player.McKnight was carried to the bench before making his way back to the locker-room area. He did not return to the bench.UP NEXTSeton Hall: The Pirates will face Iowa State in Friday's fifth-place game. Oddly enough, the teams were already were set to play at Iowa State on Dec. 8, so it will be the first of two consecutive games with the Cyclones.Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles will face Alabama in Friday's seventh-place game.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Nov 28, 2019Myles Powell showed he can carry a team.He just can't do it all.The senior guard scored 32 points but it wasn't enough as No. 13 Seton Hall suffered a 71-69 loss to No. 11 Oregon on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in Paradise Island, Bahamas.The Pirates (4-2) will face Southern Mississippi (2-4), a 94-69 loser to No. 8 Gonzaga, in a consolation game Thursday."MP (Powell) left it all out there like he always does, but someone else has to step up," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said on the team's postgame radio show. "That's where we have to get better. You can ride him as much as you want but someone has to make a play toward the end." Powell's scoring total was the second-highest in tournament history. He missed a halfcourt shot at the final buzzer and had to be helped off the floor by teammates.Powell was receiving treatment after the game and was unavailable to reporters."He just caught a cramp," Willard said. "But he's OK, he'll be all right." Powell caught fire after a controversial play late in the first half.After he made a 3-pointer in front of the Oregon bench, it appeared a Ducks player attempted to trip Powell as he headed back to the other end of the court. Powell turned and exchanged words with the Oregon bench, but no foul was called and play continued.Powell made his next six 3-point attempts as the Pirates took a 49-30 lead, scoring the first 15 points of the second half.Myles Cale and Sandro Mamukelashvili each scored 10 points, the only other Pirates in double-figure scoring.Centers Romaro Gill and Ike Obiagu combined to play 35 minutes and totaled just two points and five rebounds as the Ducks outrebounded Seton Hall 39-28, including 15 offensive boards, and had a 38-14 edge in points in the paint."Our big guys, they're good at blocking shots but I need them to rebound more," Willard said. "They're not being productive on the inside. One way or another we've got to improve on our rebounding." Willard was asked how much disappointment he felt after the missed opportunity against Oregon."None. It's only still November," he said. "This team is going to get better. We've had opportunities. We have to get better on (protecting) leads and running offense. As we round into form, these games are going to help us later on." Southern Miss stayed even with Gonzaga for the opening 7 1/2 minutes, but the Bulldogs made 13-0 and 9-1 runs to take a 53-32 halftime lead.LaDavius Draine and Artur Konontsuk each scored 19 points for the Golden Eagles."They are a great basketball team," Southern Miss coach Jay Ladner said in a news release from the school. "As I said prior to tonight, this is a great opportunity for our young guys to experience what big-time college basketball is supposed to look like. Gonzaga is well-coached and played hard, so there were no surprises there." Draine scored 14 of his points in the second half."In a small way, LaDavius, who's really struggled the entire year, it was great to see him get going," Ladner said. "He's a great kid who works hard. It was good to see him regain his confidence a little bit, and that will help us going forward." --Field Level Media
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