Cole Leads UConn over the Hall
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Shara Talia Taylor
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
The Seton Hall Pirates fought back, but could not catch up to the Connecticut Huskies and were bounced from the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament after a 62-52 loss Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
The six seeded Pirates had potential as they entered the game with a six-game winning streak. Their defense, scoring and past success wasn’t enough to stop the Huskies, who started the game full speed and kept their aggressiveness.
“I would say their aggressiveness on the defensive end,” said Pirates Myles Cale about what UConn did well. “They take a lot of pride on that, and they take a lot of pride on rebounding, too. So that hurt us a lot this game.”
Cale led Pirates with 17 total points as he reached double figures for the 13th time this season.
“I’m proud of these guys and proud of this team,” said Pirates Head Coach Kevin Willard. “It’s been a long February, and then March, with the four games already in March.”
The six seeded Pirates had potential as they entered the game with a six-game winning streak. Their defense, scoring and past success wasn’t enough to stop the Huskies, who started the game full speed and kept their aggressiveness.
“I would say their aggressiveness on the defensive end,” said Pirates Myles Cale about what UConn did well. “They take a lot of pride on that, and they take a lot of pride on rebounding, too. So that hurt us a lot this game.”
Cale led Pirates with 17 total points as he reached double figures for the 13th time this season.
“I’m proud of these guys and proud of this team,” said Pirates Head Coach Kevin Willard. “It’s been a long February, and then March, with the four games already in March.”
Both teams played well, but also made mistakes. They both played fast, had steals and butter fingers as they lost the ball. The Pirates had four steals in the first half of the game and the Huskies had two. Overall, The Huskies had better numbers. UConn made 10 of 30 field goal attempts and had 26 total rebounds in the first half of the game while Seton Hall made 7 of 28 field goal attempts and had 18 total rebounds. UConn led 29-18 at halftime.
Seton Hall pushed back in the second half of the game and decreased the scoring gap by 7 points as Kale hit a 3-pointer with 14:56 minutes left in the game. The Pirates scored 34 points in the second half of the game and the Huskies scored 33 points.
“Credit Seton Hall,” said Huskies head coach Dan Hurley. “What Kevin has done with those guys this year through, just through losing guys and the type of season he’s had in the Big East this year, and just want to wish those guys good luck next week in the tournament.”
The Pirates were missing point guard Bryce Aiken who sat out (concussion).
RJ Cole and Tyrese Martin led UConn in scoring, each with 17 points.
