Seton Hall overcomes halfcourt shot to stun No. 9 Kentucky
NEW YORK >> Myles Cale hit a goahead 3-pointer with 9.5 seconds left in overtime and Seton Hall overcame Keldon Johnson’s halfcourt heave that tied the score at the regulation buzzer, stunning No. 9 Kentucky 84-83 on Saturday in a thriller at Madison Square Garden.
In one of the most exciting finishes of the college basketball season, Johnson had a chance to win it for the Wildcats (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 Pirates players rushed off the bench to celebrate a huge win.
“I guess that was good for the fans,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “Wasn’t so good for the losing coach.”
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.
“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, doubleclutch 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.
He caught it near center court, turned over his left shoulder and hurled a righthanded shot that went in as the horn sounded, tying it at 70.
“I knew if I got the shot off that I had a pretty good chance to make it,” Johnson said. “It was a big shot. I mean, it was pretty big. I guess it just hurt because we lost.”
Kentucky fans 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.