Seton Hall scores epic win at UConn to boost NCAA Tournament resume
Seton Hall was on the brink of the biggest win of its season and maybe the biggest of Shaheen Hollway’s tenure as coach of his alma mater.
But the Pirates got a tough whistle late and could not hold onto an eight-point lead late in the game and fell at No. 6 UConn, 71-67, to miss a chance to boost their NCAA Tournament résumé in a game they desperately needed.
“This is a tough one,” Holloway, who wore a mask during the game because he’s battling the flu, said in his post-game radio interview. “I thought we did everything to win this game. We had a great game plan and just came up short.”
Asked if his team was getting enough respect as a possible NCAA Tournament team, Holloway said, “Absolutely, I think we did enough this year for people to respect us.”
Still, he added, “Unbelievable opportunity we let slip by.”
With The Hall trailing 68-65, Budd Clark missed a 3-pointer on which Silas Demary Jr. appeared to grab Clark around the waist, but no foul was called and UConn regained possession.
“I thought that last play was a foul,” Holloway said. “[Clark] thought he got fouled.”
Solo Ball hit three free throws down the stretch to make it 71-67.
The Pirates this season lost two games to UConn, a Final Four contender, by a combined 9 points.
Alex Karaban killed the Pirates with 23 points on the day he was inducted into UConn’s Ring of Honor.
AJ Staton McCray led The Hall with 20 points, but the Pirates were unable to win at UConn for the first time since Feb. 26, 2021. They have dropped 15 of their last 16 games at UConn.
Elijah Fisher scored 12 points and Najai Hines went for 11 points and 11 rebounds for The Hall, which fell to 19-10, 9-9 in the Big East after going 7-25, 2-18 a year ago.
UConn shot 20-of-29 from the line, while The Hall went 8-of-9.
The Huskies, coming off a 32-point blowout of No. 15 St. John’s on Wednesday, improved to 27-3, 17-2.
Ball hit two free throws with 53.7 remaining to put UConn up 66-65
Clark missed a tough off-balance mid-range shot over the taller Demary Jr. Clark struggled in this one, shooting 2-of-10 for 4 points with 8 assists.
Karaban then hit two free throws to make it 68-65.
The Hall shot 9-of-18 from deep after going 0-of-18 in last week’s win over Georgetown.
The Hall now visits Xavier on Tuesday before hosting Rick Pitino and No. 15 St. John’s on Friday.
Once again, Holloway called out the Big East for scheduling three games between Saturday and Friday.
“What kind of schedule [is this]?” he asked. “What are we doing. This is totally ridiculous.”
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Category: General Sports
