Khadeen Carrington appeared to give Seton Hall new life in the final minute against Xavier on Wednesday night. But seconds later, Xavier came right back and killed the Pirates’.
After Carrington made a layup with 11 seconds left to tie the score at 70, Trevon Bluiett made a floater six seconds later for Xavier to take back the lead. Carrington got a good look at a 3-pointer as time expired, but it was no good as the Pirates fell, 72-70, at Cintas Center in Cincinnati.
The defeat was Seton Hall’s fifth in six games, with previous losses to Marquette, Providence, Villanova and Butler. Before this skid, the Pirates had not lost back-to-back games all season long.
5 takeaways from Seton Hall’s late loss to No. 11 Butler
Myles Powell tied his career high with 26 points, including six 3-pointers for Seton Hall (13-8, 3-6 Big East), while Desi Rodriguez had 16 points and Angel Delgado had another double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Bluiett had 24 points to lead Xavier (16-6, 6-3 Big East).
The Pirates were neck-and-neck with Xavier throughout the final minutes, with the score tired at 62 with 3:34 left, but were never able to take the lead down the stretch.
Madison Jones had arguably his best game as a Pirate, going for eight points, five rebounds, nine assists and five steals with just one turnover. Seton Hall turned it over just seven times. But the defending Big East Tournament champions once against struggled at the free throw line, going 6-for-12.
Now ninth in the Big East standings with a 3-6 record, Seton Hall enters a crucial stretch of conference play if it hopes to return to the NCAA Tournament. The Pirates go on the road to face Georgetown on Saturday before playing Providence, St. John’s, Creighton, Villanova, Xavier, DePaul, Georgetown again and then Butler to close the season.
Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Schneider. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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