Feisty Seton Hall surprises Kentucky
SETON HALL 84, NO. 9 KENTUCKY 83, OT
NEW YORK — Keldon Johnson caught the ball near center court and heaved in a prayer of a shot at the regulation buzzer that sent Kentucky players and fans into a pulsating frenzy.
Surely now, with all that momentum, the No. 9 Wildcats would finally take control in overtime and escape from New York with a hardfought victory.
But this scrappy Seton Hall squad had a lot more left.
Myles Cale hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 9.5 seconds remaining and the Pirates overcame Johnson’s half-court fling that tied the score, stunning Kentucky 8483 on Saturday in a Madison Square Garden thriller.
“I guess that was good for the fans,” Wildcats Coach John Calipari said. “Wasn’t so good for the losing coach.”
Johnson had a chance to win it for Kentucky (7-2), but his three-point try with a second remaining was blocked by Quincy McKnight. The ball went out of bounds as time expired, and excited Pirates players rushed off the bench to celebrate a huge victory.
Myles Powell scored 25 of his 28 points after halftime for Seton Hall (6-3), including a tiebreaking three in the final seconds of the second half.
“It took a lot of effort, but … we were ready,” Powell said. “We fought, we never gave up, we stayed together and we got the job done.”
The clock showed 1.1 seconds after Powell’s step-back, double-clutch jumper from the left side went through, but officials made it 1.5 seconds after a replay review. That made all the difference for Kentucky when PJ Washington inbounded from the baseline and threw a long pass to an open Johnson, even though the play wasn’t designed for him to receive the ball.
Johnson took a dribble, turned over his left shoulder and hurled a right-handed shot that went in as the horn sounded, tying it at 70-70.
“I knew if I got the shot off that I had a pretty good chance to make it,” he said. “It was a big shot. I mean, it was pretty big. I guess it just hurt because we lost.”
Kentucky rooters roared and Seton Hall Coach Kevin Willard, stomping and pointing on the sideline only moments before, simply dropped
“We fought, we never gave up, we stayed together and we got the job done.” Seton Hall’s Myles Powell on Saturday’s victory over No. 9 Kentucky
his head in disbelief. A blueclad crowd of 10,244, split between the schools probably in Kentucky’s favor, was still buzzing as the teams got ready for overtime to settle the Citi Hoops Classic.
“There’s just something special about this place,” Willard said.
Washington had a career-high 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Kentucky, which had won seven consecutive since a 118-84 blowout loss to Duke in the season opener Nov. 6.
In other Top 25/SEC games Saturday, Dedric Lawson had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 2 Kansas got past New Mexico State 63-60 in the Jayhawk Shootout . ... Freshman RJ Barrett had 30 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, and No. 3 Duke beat Yale 91-58. … Jordan Poole scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half, and No. 5 Michigan defeated South Carolina 89-78 and remained unbeaten. … Bryce Brown scored a career-high 34 points and made six three-pointers to lead No. 8 Auburn to an 82-72 victory over Dayton. … Kyle Ahrens scored Michigan State’s final seven points, including a two-handed dunk with 8.7 seconds remaining, and the No. 10 Spartans beat Florida 63-59. … Terance Mann scored 20 points, reserve David Nichols had 16 and No. 11 Florida State beat Connecticut 79-71 in the second game of the Never Forget Tribute Classic. … Markus Howard scored 27 points, freshman Joey Hauser added 15 and Marquette grinded out an overtime victory over No. 12 Wisconsin 74-69. … Martins Igbanu made a go-ahead jump hook with 1:51 remaining, lifting Tulsa to a victory over No. 16 Kansas State 47-46. … Jayvon Graves hit a career-best five three-pointers and scored 19 points, helping No. 17 Buffalo to a victory over St. Bonaventure 80-62. … Eric Paschall had 14 points and nine rebounds, and No. 21 Villanova earned its 25th consecutive Big 5 victory, this one over Saint Joseph’s 7058. … Lamar Peters scored 28 points to lead No. 22 Mississippi State to its fifth consecutive victory, this one over Clemson 82-71. … Anthony Cowan scored 17 points and No. 23 Maryland overcame a sluggish start as it beat Loyola of Chicago 55-41. … James Palmer scored a season-high 30 points, Thomas Allen had a career-high 18 and No. 24 Nebraska beat Creighton 94-75, ending a seven-game losing streak to its in-state rival. … Jordan Lyons had 20 points and Noah Gurley added 15 points and 6 rebounds, powering No. 25 Furman to a victory over South Carolina Upstate 74-60. … Hot shooting and an opportunistic defense propelled Mississippi to an 81-74 road victory over Illinois State.