Quincy McKnight's three-point play with 2:54 to go gave Seton Hall the lead for good, and the Pirates held on down the stretch for a 65-63 victory over Providence on Wednesday night in Newark, N.J.
Myles Powell led Seton Hall (13-8, 4-5 Big East) with a game-high 31 points, shooting 12-for-23 overall and 3-for-7 on 3-point attempts. Powell also had a 31-point game against Butler earlier this month.
Michael Nzei scored 12 points for the Pirates, who won despite missing 11 of their 14 3-point attempts.
Alpha Diallo had a team-high 21 points to complement four steals for the Friars (13-8, 3-5), who had a two-game winning streak snapped and fell to 3-3 on the road. Isaiah Jackson backed Diallo with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
After leading by as many as nine points early in the second half and trailing by seven with 14:02 to play, the Pirates rallied for a 63-61 edge on McKnight's layup and subsequent free throw.
Powell's dunk doubled the lead, but Providence hung within 65-63 on a pair of Jackson free throws with 1:34 to go. However, the Friars failed to score again, missing their last two shots, including a point-blank attempt by Jackson with five seconds left.
The result ended a four-game losing streak for Seton Hall, which lost 72-63 at Providence earlier this month.
In beating Providence at home for the fourth consecutive year, Seton Hall led by as many as nine points in the first half before settling for a 34-27 edge at the intermission.
The margin reached nine again when Nzei hit a layup on the Pirates' first possession of the second half, but the Friars countered with a 15-0 run that turned the game in their favor.
David Duke and Diallo converted three-point plays on back-to-back possessions in the middle of the run that propelled Providence to a 42-36 lead before a layup by McKnight ended the Seton Hall drought with 15:21 remaining.
The Friars went on to lead by as many as seven, but this time the Pirates rallied, regaining the lead on a 3-pointer by Powell with 7:55 left, setting up the tight finish.
--Field Level Media
Providence | Seton Hall | |
Alpha Diallo 21 | Scoring | Myles Powell 31 |
Makai Ashton-Langford 5 | Assists | Quincy McKnight 3 |
Isaiah Jackson 7 | Rebounds | Taurean Thompson 9 |
Alpha Diallo 3 | Free Throws Made | Michael Nzei 4 |
Alpha Diallo 4 | Steals | Myles Powell 4 |
Maliek White 1 | Blocks | Taurean Thompson 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Providence | 63 | 38.2 | 7-22 | 14-17 | 12 | 28 | 1 | 10 | 13 |
Seton Hall | 65 | 48.1 | 3-14 | 12-15 | 8 | 37 | 5 | 7 | 19 |