NEWARK — The ball bounced on the rim seemingly for an eternity after coming off Myles Powell’s hand. And as it did, the freshman Seton Hall guard had just two words in mind.
“Please drop.”
The ball did finally fall through the hoop with 7.9 seconds left in overtime, providing the winning points as Seton Hall downed Providence, 72-70, for the Pirates second straight extra-session victory. On a night where Seton Hall was struggling to find offense, their star neophyte provided it.
Powell’s game-winner came with the score tied at 70 after Khadeen Carrington was unable to shake free of his defender. He passed off to Powell who drove, spun and launched a floater that hit back iron, the left side of the rim and then the right before dropping.
“He’s got some big onions, I’ll say that,” Carrington said. “He reminds me of myself my freshman year. Willing to take the big shot and having confidence that it’s going to go in. He’s playing well right now, he’s going to get the ball. He’s going to get his shots. And we just believe in him, we have confidence in him.”
Confidence has been a theme with Powell all season, who came to Seton Hall with much fanfare as a recruit and has had some impressive showings as well as some down moments. This game personified that — he air-balled a potential game-winner at the end of regulation. But Powell and his teammates have been adamant throughout the campaign that they need him to keep shooting.
“Yeah, I knew it was going in. Just having confidence, I have no self-doubt,” Powell said. “Like I’ve been saying all year, my team has a lot of confidence in me. So knowing that they have my back, I just got it done.”
Powell finished with 14 points. This wasn’t the best game of his young career — he had 26 points against Iowa, 21 versus Columbia, 19 against St. John’s and 26 against Xavier. But this was certainly the biggest shot he’s made as a Pirate, and it came at a time when Seton Hall was in dire need of a win as it looks to return to the NCAA Tournament after making it for the first time in 10 years last season.
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Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard has raved about Powell all season long, saying he might be the best scoring freshman he’s ever coached. Powell is starting to live up to that praise.
“As he continues to grow and get better and play games in this league, you’re going to see someone continue to blossom and become an elite player and probably an elite player in this league at some point,” Willard said. “He plays with great passion and great enthusiasm. He’s developing really, really well.”
Providence coach Ed Cooley was nearly as effusive in his praise of the Trenton native.
“The freshmen in our league are really good. He’s a great basketball player. He’s wired to score. He’s definitely wired to score. I’m glad he’s in our league, I’m glad we’ve only got to play against him a couple times,” Cooley said. “I think he’ll be a household name. I really like him, I do. I think he’s a tremendous player.”
There were plenty of times when it looked like Seton Hall was losing this game, namely when it was down 15 points in the first half. But Carrington’s faith never wavered after Powell’s shot hit the rim.
“Once I’d seen the first bounce, I knew it was going to drop,” Carrington said. “I knew we were going to win this game. It was a no-brainer.”
Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Schneider. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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