Tray Jackson scored 21 points and hit two crucial 3-pointers as Seton Hall avoided a potentially damaging loss and defeated Georgetown 70-63 in a Big East game Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Jared Rhoden added 14 points and Kadary Richmond had 12 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and only two turnovers for the Pirates (13-7, 4-6), who broke a two-game losing streak. A defeat could have been costly down the road for Seton Hall’s hopes of an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
Donald Carey scored 15 points, Aminu Mohammed had 14 and Dante Harris and Kaiden Rice each had 12 for the Hoyas (6-13, 0-8).
Seton Hall point guard Bryce Aiken missed his fourth consecutive game as he remains in concussion protocol. Teammate Jamir Harris, the Pirates’ 3-point specialist, left the game with 5:02 to go with an apparent shoulder or collarbone injury after a hard collision while going for a loose ball. Harris scored six points.
Georgetown led 53-49 with 7:10 left after Carey’s 3-pointer. But Jackson, who went 5-for-9 from beyond the arc, drained two consecutive treys to put the Pirates ahead 55-53 with 6:11 left. Another 3 by Myles Cale made it 58-53.
Rhoden’s driving layup with 1:01 left gave the Pirates a 66-61 lead.
The Pirates appeared to be in control with an 11-point lead early in the second half, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Carey and Rice cut Georgetown’s deficit to 39-34 with 14:32 left. A steal by Carey set up a 3 by Mohammed that cut the Pirates’ lead to 41-39.
Seton Hall was unimpressive in the early going as its offense again appeared out of sync in the absence of Aiken. Jackson had the ball stripped from him by Carey while it appeared Jackson was about to go up for a shot. Instead, it was the Hoyas going the other way, as Dante Harris fed Mohammed for a fast-break layup and a 12-7 lead.
Finally, the favored Pirates embarked on a 10-2 run that featured 3-pointers by Rhoden and Jamir Harris, the latter giving them a 17-14 lead with 10:59 to go in the half.
The Pirates’ biggest lead of the half came at 35-25 as Rhoden made two foul shots with eight seconds to go. But Rice’s 3 as time expired sent Georgetown into intermission with only a seven-point deficit.
–Field Level Media
