Myles Powell gunned in a career-high 40 points Thursday night, including a 3-pointer with 1:06 left that put Seton Hall ahead to stay in a 82-75 win over Grand Canyon in the first round of the Wooden Tradition in Fullerton, Calif.
Powell needed only 16 shots from the field to reach 40, hitting 12, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. The sophomore guard also added seven rebounds as the Pirates (2-2) advanced to a semifinal matchup Friday night against Hawaii. The Antelopes (3-2) will oppose Utah on Friday in the consolation bracket.
Taurean Thompson added 12 points off the bench and Quincy McKnight hit for 11 in support of Powell. Seton Hall canned 28 of 45 field-goal attempts, shooting at a better rate from the field (62.2 percent) than it did from the line, where it was 20 of 33 (60.6 percent).
Damari Milstead paced the Antelopes with 21 points, including a short jumper with 1:33 remaining that gave them a 75-73 lead. However, those were the last points for Grand Canyon, which went scoreless on its final three possessions.
Alessandro Lever added 20 points for the Antelopes, while Illinois transfer Michael Finke contributed 11. Grand Canyon made only 44.8 percent of its field-goal tries but sank 11 of 30 3-point attempts.
After Lever opened the scoring with a layup 65 seconds into the game, Powell put his stamp on the proceedings by scoring eight points in a 10-0 Seton Hall run. He sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a transition layup.
The Antelopes worked their way back into contention, tying the game at 20 as Milstead converted a layup with 9:19 left in the half. Powell continued to be the antidote to any Grand Canyon spurt, though, converting seemingly any time he desired.
After the Antelopes evened the score at 31 on a layup by Finke with 3:48 remaining in the half, Powell responded with a 3-pointer and two free throws. That closed out a 21-point half and helped the Pirates take a 40-37 lead into intermission.
--Field Level Media
Seton Hall | Grand Canyon | |
Myles Powell 40 | Scoring | Damari Milstead 21 |
Myles Cale 5 | Assists | Oscar Frayer 4 |
Sandro Mamukelashvili 8 | Rebounds | Tim Finke 6 |
Myles Powell 11 | Free Throws Made | Damari Milstead 5 |
Myles Cale 2 | Steals | Matt Jackson 1 |
Taurean Thompson 2 | Blocks | Matt Jackson 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Seton Hall | 82 | 62.2 | 6-12 | 20-33 | 15 | 28 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
Grand Canyon | 75 | 44.6 | 11-30 | 12-16 | 18 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 11 |