Hall rocks Butler
Stuns No. 5 Bulldogs with 48 in second half
INDIANAPOLIS — Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard kept it simple at halftime Wednesday.
He needed Myles Powell to be more aggressive, 7-foot-2 Romaro Gill to become a bigger presence in the post and Quincy McKnight to execute the plan flawlessly. All of it worked. Powell and Gill combined for 34 second-half points, McKnight finished with a career-high 13 assists and the Pirates overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to pull away from No. 5 Butler, 78-70.
“When you have the best player in America and he's able to get you 40 every night, you better hedge and do all of that,” Willard said. “I think what Myles and our team understand better now is where he is going to get doubled and then, when you have someone like Romaro, you just throw it up to him.”
Even Butler's usually stout defense didn't have an answer for the dynamic duo of Powell, who scored 29 points, and
Gill, who matched his career high with 17. McKnight added 11 points and seven rebounds and had only one turnover in more than 35 minutes.
Together, they helped Seton Hall score 48 points in the second half — against a defense that was allowing 54.4 points per game — and extend their winning streak to seven. The Pirates (13-4, 5-0 Big East) are the only conference team with a perfect record in league play.
On paper, it looks like Seton Hall's most impressive win all season. The Pirates have now beaten two top 10 teams, Maryland at home and Butler on the road.
With Powell, Gill and McKnight leading the way, Seton Hall quickly cut a 40-30 halftime deficit to five. Gill then scored nine points during in a 15-6 run, capped by Powell's 3-pointer with 8:14 left, to give the Pirates a 58-57 lead.
“We got a little simpler on pick-androll coverage and I think that helped (Gill) out a little bit because it freed him up,” Willard said. “We were doing everything.”