Seton Hall basketball stuns UConn at home -- again

Seton Hall basketball stuns UConn at home — again

Posted by author February 15, 2025 Basketball

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NEWARK – The physicality, intensity and pride that had long been hallmarks for Seton Hall basketball prior to this lost season finally showed up Saturday — just in time for a visit from defending national champion UConn.

The real fans showed up big-time, too, and got every penny’s worth as a memorable tug-of-war ended with a shocking 69-68 Seton Hall victory in overtime.

Sophomore wing Scotty Middleton rolled in a put-back with three seconds left as the pro-Hall crowd of 12,000 blew the roof off the Prudential Center.

There were heroics across the lineup for the Hall. Sophomore wing Isaiah Coleman tallied 23 points and eight rebounds as Seton Hall (7-19 overall, 2-13 Big East) snapped a nine-game losing streak and beat the defending national champion Huskies for the fourth straight year at home.

For first time in weeks the Pirates played with fire, holding UConn to 38 percent shooting with an aggressive pressure defense, beating them to the majority of 50/50 balls and feeding off a crowd that breathed a life into the Rock that was reminiscent of seasons of old.

The Hall led by as many as eight in regulation before UConn surged ahead late in the second half, setting up a wild finish. With the Pirates trailing by three and eight seconds left, a missed dunk by freshman center Godswill Erheriene caromed out to postgrad guard Dylan Addae-Wusu, who calmly drilled a 3-pointer with three ticks remaining, forcing overtime.

In the end UConn (17-8, 9-5) and head coach Dan Hurley got out-toughed by Hurley’s alma mater in Newark yet again. The Pirates are now 5-5 against UConn since Hurley took charge there, and Hall head coach Shaheen Holloway is 3-2 against the premier program in the sport. The Huskies lead the series 49-24 all-time.

“We got what we deserved,” Hurley said. “They were tougher. Credit Shaheen and his guys for fighting back at the end of regulation and fighting back in overtime.”

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Coaching brethren

Dan Hurley will not win a lot of popularity contests outside of Connecticut, but one thing is certain: There’s mutual respect between him and Shaheen Holloway. Though they missed being teammates at the Hall by one season – Holloway arrived the fall after Hurley graduated – they’ve been supportive of each other throughout their rise through the coaching ranks.

Shortly before Saturday’s tip they shared an extended embrace after they walked out of the tunnel. After speaking for a minute, each chuckled as they went their separate ways.

“Shaheen has proven himself as a coach,” Hurley told reporters on Friday. “He’s banked so much in his resume, what he did at Saint Peter’s, what he did last year winning the NIT, and it should have been a tournament (NCAA Tournament) team.

Holloway and Hurley are two of five former Seton Hall players serving as Division I men’s basketball head coaches (the others: NJIT’s Grant Billmeier, Wagner’s Donald Copeland and Binghamton’s Levell Sanders). Only Duke boasts more alums in the head-coaching ranks, with eight.

Collectively they own a whopping record of 18-6 in the NCAA Tournament, led by Hurley (14-4, two national titles), and then Holloway (3-1 with Saint Peter’s) and Copeland (1-1 last season with Wagner).

As coincidence would have it, Binghamton and NJIT were facing off across town at the same time Saturday. Binghamton and Sanders prevailed 75-71 in overtime.

Four former Hall players squaring off as coaches in the same city on the same day. It might be unprecedented.

2. Back from injury

For the first time in weeks, there was good news on the injury front: Guards Dylan Addae-Wusu and Scotty Middleton and center Manny Okorafor returned to action.

Addae-Wusu, who averages 12.3 points, 3.0 assists and 2.4 steals and has the second-most Big East experience of any player in the league, made an immediate impact as a ball-pressuring sub. The Hall is a different team without his defense and hustle plays. He finished with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Middleton has been hot and cold but showed his hot side by swishing a couple of rise-and-fire jumpers.

Guard Chaunce Jenkins (knee) sat out a sixth straight game and was joined on the sideline by center Gus Yalden (ankle).

3. Godswill!

There was a sequence in the first half that should open the eyes of any Pirate fan. Guard Jahseem Felton drove, drew a double team and dished to center Godswill Erheriene, who was flying in from the left block, for a rim-rattling slam.

These two guys are freshmen.

If there’s been a silver lining to the injury-riddled slog of the past two months, it’s that these two got significant playing time.

They’re developing, and this was the fruit.

Both started against UConn, and Erheriene was a force with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Every time he got the ball inside, the building buzzed. More often than not, he overpowered UConn’s interior defenders.

Felton logged 20 minutes and posted the game’s highest plus/minus of plus-10.

Continuity is so important in the free-agency era, Keeping these guys around for next season, especially the 6-foot-9 Erheriene, would be a big boost in that department.

4. Hall fans came through

Heading into Saturday, there was some misguided chatter on the interwebs predicting a UConn fans takeover of the Prudential Cetner. As paltry as Seton Hall’s attendance has been this season, UConn remains a glamor game and Pirate fans do have pride.

With one side of the upper-deck seats open, about 12,000 fans turned out all told. About two-thirds were in the Hall’s corner, and they wanted this one bad. They were loud from the tip and gave the home team three standing ovations as they built a 25-22 lead by halftime.

There is no doubt that the Pirates fed off that energy, displaying a hustle and urgency that hasn’t been there in recent weeks.

5. Words of wisdom

Hurley is famous for his explosive behavior, but he’s always been relatively calm in his returns to Newark and Saturday brought more of the same, even as his squad played from behind.

On Friday, speaking with reporters, he was asked about the Hall’s struggles and he diagnosed the situation perfectly.

“College basketball now is a one-year situation, with the volatility of the sport,” Hurley said. “Obviously you have to have the resources in place, or else you have no shot.”

Resources have been an issue in South Orange, but the feeling among insiders is the brutality of this season has opened some eyes in the administration. As other programs have shown this season, it’s easier than ever to flip the script with a combination of resources and smart decision-making.

“Right now, you’re pretty much having to put together a new team on a yearly basis,” he said. “Some years you’re going to get it right, some years you’re going to get it wrong.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.