3 Clutch Free Throws for Gibson
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Andrew Rosario
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
The DePaul Blue Demons, (9-22 in the regular season and 3-17 in the Big East) faced the Seton Hall Pirates (17-14 in the regular season and 10-10 in the Big East) in the second game of the Big East Tournament Wednesday night. The Pirates were looking to make a big run at Madison Square Garden if they had any chance of getting to March Madness. Seton Hall struggled at the end of regular season having lost 3 of their last 4 although they upset #20 Providence 82-58 in their last regular season game. The Blue Demons only shot at going into the NCAA tournament would have been the win the whole thing. A very long shot. DePaul ended their regular losing their last 12 games in a row. Ranked #10
De Paul did not look like they hadn’t won a game since November 30th and Seton Hall #7 didn’t look like they won their last game by 24 points.
Both teams struggled at the start missing jump shots, free throws and turning the ball over. With 4:03 left in the first half, Blue Demons guard Umoja Gibson nails a deep 3, getting them within 1 at 26-25. De Paul would outscore Seton Hall 7-2 taking a 32-28 halftime lead. De Paul shot 43% from the field connecting on 6 of 11 3-point attempts. Seton Hall shot 43% missing 8 of their 11 3-point attempts. The Blue Demons were led by Jalen Terry who scored 9 while the Pirates were led by KC Ndefo with 10.
Neither team would go up by more than 6 to start the second half. Momentum seemed to swing the Pirates way with 13:11 left and up by 1, 38-37. Forward Tyrese Samuel took an ally-oop pass from teammate Feme Odukale and promptly slammed it down with his right hand sending the crowd into a frenzy. The excitement was short lived as DePaul’s forward Javan Johnson connects on 3 consecutive 3-pointers bringing them with 3 at 46-43.
Seton Hall would go up by as many as 8 points but they could not put the pesky Blue Demons away. With the Pirates up 65-63 and in possession, DePaul comes away with a steal and guard Umoja Gibson gets fouled attempting a 3-point shot. He calmly sings all 3 with Seton Hall having to go the length of the court looking for the game winner. That is when the block of the night took place.
The Pirates inbounded the ball with 3.9 seconds left and Odukale races up the court looking as if he would have a clear game winning lay-up. Out of nowhere, Nick Ongenda blocks the shot from behind as the buzzer went off. Initially, the refs called goaltending which would have given Seton Hall the win. Upon review, the block was clean. DePaul celebrated the 66-65 win as Seton Hall walked off with their heads down.
DePaul’s Johnson led all scorers with 19 points and Seton Hall’s Samuel finished with 16. The Blue Demons face #2 Xavier tonight at 7pm.
