Seton Hall overcomes half-court shot to stun Kentucky
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 ninth-ranked Wildcats would finally take control in overtime and escape from New York with a hard-fought win.
But this scrappy Seton Hall squad had a lot more left.
Myles Cale hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.5 seconds remaining and the Pirates overcame Johnson’s halfcourt fling that tied the score, stunning Kentucky 84-83 on Saturday in a Madison Square Garden thriller.
Johnson had a chance to win it for Kentucky (7-2), but his 3-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 win.
Myles Powell scored 25 of his 28 points after halftime for Seton Hall (6-3), including a tiebreaking 3 in the final seconds of the second half.
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.
Kentucky rooters roared and Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, stomping and pointing on the sideline only moments before, simply dropped his head in disbelief. A blue-clad 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.
Washington had a careerhigh 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Kentucky, which had won seven straight since a 118-84 blowout loss to Duke in the season opener Nov. 6.
Reid Travis added 13 points before fouling out with 2:20 remaining in regulation. Johnson, the team’s leading scorer at 15.9 points per game, was held to 10 after going scoreless in the first half.
Cale scored a career-best 17 on 4-of-18 shooting. With the Pirates trailing 83-81, he took a pass from Taurean Thompson on the right side, pump-faked a defender and drained an open 3 to send Seton Hall to its fifth victory in six games.
McKnight had 15 points and five assists. Thompson, who missed Tuesday’s win over New Hampshire with an ankle injury, contributed 13 points off the bench.
Seton Hall quickly recovered from Johnson’s incredible shot, scoring the first four points in overtime. A 3-pointer by Johnson with 43.9 seconds left gave the Wildcats an 82-81 lead, and Ashton Hagans made one of two free throws for Kentucky with 24.9 seconds to go.
Mississippi State 82, Clemson 71
NEWARK, N.J.—Lamar Peters scored 28 points to lead No. 22 Mississippi State to a wire-to-wire 82-71 win over Clemson in the first game of the Never Forget Tribute Classic.
Quinndary Weatherspoon had 20 points for Mississippi State (8-1), which has won five straight. The Bulldogs shot 63 percent from 3-point range. Peters was 8 of 11 from beyond the arc.
Clemson (6-3) got 23 points from Aamir Simms and 18 points from Elijah Thomas.
Weatherspoon’s 3-pinter from the top of the key put Mississippi State ahead 74-60 with 6:13 remaining, capping a 9-0 run. Clemson did not get closer than eight points the rest of the way after closing within five points a few times earlier in the second half.
The Bulldogs shot 56 percent (10 of 18) from 3-point range in the first half to take a 42-34 lead. They led by as many 19 points in the half.
Michigan State 63, Florida 59
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Kyle Ahrens scored Michigan State’s final seven points, including a two-handed jam with 8.7 seconds remaining, and No. 10 Michigan beat Florida 63-59.
Ahrens barely beat the shot clock with his baseline slam, giving the Spartans the final points in a game the Gators made close thanks mostly to freshman Andrew Nembhard late.
Florida (5-4) cut Michigan State’s lead to 56-53 on KeVaughn Allen’s 3-pointer with 3:24 to play, but Ahrens answered from the corner on the other end. Ahrens added a reverse layup on the Spartans’ next possession.
The Gators forced a missed shot and a turnover, getting a chance to tie the game. But Allen missed an off-balanced shot going to the rim with 43 seconds to play.
Ahrens delivered the knockout blow on the other end, driving the baseline and stuffing one home.
Xavier Tillman led the Spartans (8-2) with 14 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Joshua Langford and Nick Ward added 13 points apiece for Michigan State, which finished with a season low in points.
Tillman and Ward combined to make 12 of 15 shots, most of them in the paint.
Nembhard and Allen led the Gators with 13 each. Nembhard made four of Florida’s last seven baskets and had assists on two others.
Michigan 89, South Carolina 78
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— South Carolina coach Frank Martin had a simple explanation for why Michigan’s Jordan Poole is so tough to defend.
Poole scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half, and No. 5 Michigan remained unbeaten with an 89-78 victory over South Carolina. The Gamecocks scored more points than any team all season against Michigan, but the Wolverines were ahead by six at halftime, and they led comfortably for most of the second half.
Iggy Brazdeikis scored 17 points and Jon Teske added 15 for Michigan. Chris Silva led South Carolina with 18.
The Wolverines have won 24 of their last 25 games, with the lone defeat coming in the national title game against Villanova last season.
Michigan was coming off its first close game of the season—a two-point win at Northwestern on Tuesday night. The Wolverines were uncharacteristically careless against South Carolina (4-5), turning the ball over 11 times in the first half and 16 in the game.
Still, Michigan (10-0) went on a 13-2 run near the end of the first and led 42-36 at halftime.
Poole went to work in the second half with a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk, putting the Wolverines up 56-45. The sophomore guard scored 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the half.