Photo courtesy of USA Today.
By David Cordova
The season started off very well for Seton Hall, as they were rated into the Associated Press Top 25 poll prior to their first game of the season. On January 9th, they came into the BMO Bradley Harris Center in Milwaukee, with a 14-2 record and ranked No. 13 in the nation to play against Marquette.
At the time, the Pirates were also 3-0 in Big East play after winning games against Creighton, St. John’s and Butler. In the end, they left Milwaukee deflated, losing by a 20-point margin to the Golden Eagles in an upset victory.
Since then, the Pirates have gone 3-3 since that fateful night and have played a tough conference schedule. As many know, no team can take a night off in one of the toughest conferences to play in, such as the Big East.
In last night’s game, the Pirates would not bow down and would fight to the finish, but for a second time, the Golden Eagles would emerge victorious.
Marquette 88, Seton Hall 85
The beginning of the game started with Marquette scoring a lot of their baskets on shots from the outside and easy baskets. But then Seton Hall would manage to stay with them throughout the first 15 minutes of the game, as both teams would manage to stay close.
Then moments later, the visiting Golden Eagles would break away after three-pointers by sophomore Markus Howard (32 points, seven rebounds) and redshirt senior Andrew Rowsey (15 points, seven assists), which helped bring them ahead by nine, 40-31, with 3:39 left.
But then the Pirates came storming back on a run ignited by baskets from senior Khadeen Carrington (15 points and five assists), sophomore Myles Powell (18 points) and freshman Jordan Walker (6 points), which ended the first half with Seton Hall trailing Marquette, 42-41.
The second half started the same as the first, as both teams traded baskets. Then Marquette once again pulled away, leading by a margin of ten points, 66-56, with 9:34 to go after a tip-in from junior Matt Heldt (10 points and eight rebounds).
Then with Carrington leading the way, the Hall came back and rallied and trailed 73-69, with 4:16 to go. The last few minutes of the game was a battle unto itself as the Pirates got to within four to six points of their opponent.
Senior Desi Rodriguez made three crucial free throws by bringing Seton Hall within two, 84-82, with nine seconds to go. But then Heldt and Howard made four consecutive free throws to bring Marquetete ahead, 88-82 with 1 second left. Powell then hit a three at the buzzer for the Pirates, but it would prove to be meaningless, as the Golden Eagles would win against them for a second time.
This season has been up and down for the Pirates, with a 6-5 record in conference, but with six games left before the start of the Big East Tournament, there is a good chance that they could make noise there. But for now, Seton Hall has to take it one game at a time.
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