Powell’s big night leads Pirates

WASHINGTON — Preseason All-America player Myles Powell was determined to get off to a hot start after struggling to find his shot recently for No. 12 Seton Hall.

Georgetown proved to be the perfect opponent for him again.

Powell scored 34 points, Romaro Gill tied a career-high with eight blocks and the 12thranked Pirates raced out to a big lead and beat Georgetown 78-71 Wednesday night.

“My shooting percentage hasn’t really been good,” Powell said.

He was a combined 13 for 40 in wins over Providence and DePaul and a loss to Xavier.

“He was just disappointed,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself to play a certain way.”

The Pirates (17-5, 9-1 Big East) jumped out to a 16-0 lead, going 4 for 4 on 3-pointers. Powell, the second leading scorer in the Big East, hit his scoring average of 21 points by halftime.

Powell finished 12 for 24 from the field. He has averaged 29 points in Seton Hall’s last five games against Georgetown dating to last season.

Seton Hall’s Quincy McKnight started the game and finished with eight points and a gamehigh 10 assists in 22 minutes. He was listed as day to day after leaving Saturday’s loss to Xavier early with a left knee injury.

The Pirates improved to 5-0 on the road in the Big East. They have won nine of 11 against Georgetown.

Georgetown (13-10, 3-7) was playing for the second straight game without leading scorer Mac McClung, who was out with an injured right foot.

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