Senior forward Michael Nzei scored 21 points while going a perfect 8 of 8 from the field as Seton Hall won the Wooden Legacy championship with an 83-81 victory over Miami at Fullerton, Calif.
Junior guard Myles Powell scored 17 points as the Pirates (4-2) reeled off three victories in a span of four days in the eight-team tournament.
Senior guard Zach Johnson scored 18 points for Miami (5-1), one game after his rebound and dunk, all in one motion, gave the Hurricanes a semifinal victory over Fresno State.
The Hurricanes had five consecutive possessions in the closing minutes with a chance to tie or take the lead, but only got a single free throw from senior center Ebuka Izundu in those trips.
Neither team made a field goal after Miami sophomore guard Chris Lykes made a 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining. Lykes also had 18 points for the Hurricanes, scoring at least 17 points in all three tournament games.
Seton Hall took the lead for good with just over eight minutes remaining on a 3-pointer by junior guard Quincy McKnight. It was the only 3-pointer in the game for McKnight, who scored 16 points for Seton Hall as he went 7 of 9 from the field.
Nezi's 21 points were a season high and came one game after he went 7 of 10 from the field while scoring 16 points in a semifinal victory over Hawaii.
In a back-and-forth affair, Seton Hall had an advantage inside, registering a 56-34 advantage with points in the paint.
Miami forced 20 turnovers from each of their first two opponents in the tournament, with Seton Hall turning the ball over 13 times on Sunday.
The game was tied 45-45 at halftime as Miami shot 66.7 percent from the field (16 of 24), while Seton Hall shot 57.6 percent (19 of-33). The Hurricanes were 7 of 20 (35 percent) from 3-point range in the game, while the Pirates went 6 of 23 (26.1 percent).
It was the first meeting between Miami and Seton Hall since 2004, the last year the Hurricanes were a member of the Big East Conference.
--Field Level Media
Miami-Florida | Seton Hall | |
Zach Johnson 18 | Scoring | Michael Nzei 21 |
Dejan Vasiljevic 5 | Assists | Quincy McKnight 5 |
Ebuka Izundu 5 | Rebounds | Myles Cale 5 |
Zach Johnson 6 | Free Throws Made | Michael Nzei 5 |
Chris Lykes 2 | Steals | Quincy McKnight 3 |
Ebuka Izundu 2 | Blocks | Sandro Mamukelashvili 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Miami-Florida | 81 | 54.5 | 7-20 | 14-18 | 11 | 27 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
Seton Hall | 83 | 52.3 | 6-23 | 9-14 | 15 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 13 |