Dawes, Pirates on Marq’ in upset

Al-Amir Dawes had 23 points and Kadary Richmond scored 21 to lead Seton Hall over No. 7 Marquette, 78-75, Saturday at Prudential Center for the Pirates’ third win this season over ranked teams.

Seton Hall (10-5, 3-1 Big East) held off a late scare from a well-rested Marquette, which hadn’t played since defeating Creighton, 72-67, on Dec. 30.

A 10-0 run pushed the Seton Hall lead to 76-66 with 2:25 left to play. Dre Davis and Richmond each had four points in the burst.

Then the Golden Eagles scored nine straight points to bring the game to 76-75, but they mishandled an inbound pass after a timeout and threw the ball out of bounds with four seconds remaining.

“It was a bizarre game,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “There’s so many plays at both ends of the floor that we would like to have back. We didn’t rotate effectively, and we didn’t put a chest on a defender.”

Richmond added five assists and finished 8-for-16 from the floor. The senior guard leads the Pirates in scoring with just over 15 points a game.

“I don’t think I can name another college player who is exactly like him [Richmond],” Seton Hall coach Shaheen Holloway pointed out. “And he is clearly getting better.”

Oso Ighodaro led Marquette (11-4, 2-2) with 22 points. David Joplin scored 15 points.

Davis had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Pirates, who never trailed in the second half.

Seton Hall defeated No. 5 UConn, 75-60, on Dec. 20 and No. 23 Providence, 61-57, Wednesday.

“When we stay connected, we can do anything,” Dawes said. “We expect to win a game like this. It’s what we got recruited for, to win games like these.”