Down one point with just seconds left, Jamee Crockett squared up for the game-winning three-pointer. The shot looked good, and to Crockett, it felt good. Yet the ball drew back iron and bounced away, and the Blue Demons lost their first Big East game of the season.
Seton Hall beat DePaul 73-72 at Allstate Arena Wednesday night. The Demons (9-5) trailed by double-digits early on, roared back to a five-point lead with six minutes to go, and flubbed the final minute of action, allowing a very winnable game to slip away.
The Demons led by one with the ball with under a minute left. Guard Brandon Young dribbled down the shot clock, but as he made his move in the lane, his crossover was fumbled and the Pirates took possession. On the trip down the court, Seton Hall’s Fuquan Edwin missed a jumper but the ball went out of bounds, off DePaul. Given a second chance, Edwin scored a layup on the ensuing inbounds play with six seconds left.
DePaul then drew up its best late game play – an inbounds pass to forward Donnavan Kirk, where the defense collapses on Kirk while the big man finds an open shooter on the outside. That’s exactly what happened, but Crockett missed just long.
“We got the exact shot we wanted on our last play, but it just didn’t go in,” said head coach Oliver Purnell.
The Demons did not play a particularly strong first half. They trailed 40-32, shot 41 percent from the floor, and missed all four three-point attempts. Seton Hall, meanwhile, torched their opponent from deep, knocking down seven threes in the first half.
“We are a lot better team than they are,” said Crockett. “But I mean, they were shooting threes. They were going in.”
Guard Aaron Cosby made four three-pointers and finished with 24 points. Forward Brandon Mobley sank three threes, and ended with 10 points. The Pirates went 10-of-24 from beyond the arc on the game.
The second half was much different. The defense was stingier and the Pirates hot shooting streak stopped (39 percent from the field, and 3-of-12 from three). Forward Charles McKinney did a nice job locking down Edwin, who only scored two points after halftime, finishing with 11. Edwin is Seton Hall’s top scorer at 18 points per game.
On offense, Young made three layups down the stretch, including the bucket and the foul to give DePaul its first lead, 55-52, with nine minutes to go. Young scored 15. Crockett scored nine in the second half to finish with a season-high 16 points.
Durrell McDonald scored 12 points, hitting a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down to tie the game at 52, and a twisting flip shot off of a spin move to give the Demons their last basket and a 72-69 lead. McDonald also shined on the other end of the court, defending Cosby late in the game and making every look a tough one.
“We needed his pressure defensively,” Purnell said of McDonald. “He’s probably our best guy on the ball in terms of one-on-one and pressuring people, and I think he did a good job with that tonight.
DePaul was done in by poor free throw shooting (15-of-25 from the line), losing the rebounding battle (Seton Hall had a 40-32 edge, and forward Eugene Teague had 15 boards alone), and by an off-night from its leading scorer, Cleveland Melvin. Melvin had only six points and three rebounds, and played just six minutes in the second half. The Pirates were physical down low, and Melvin did not adjust.
“People are going to come after Cleve,” said Purnell. “He’s just got to recognize that. Listless won’t get it done.”
Crockett was somber after the loss, visibly frustrated that he and his team worked their way back into the game, only to collapse at the last second. Yet if Crockett would have hit the final shot, the mood would be completely different.
“Sometimes the ball rolls your way, sometimes it doesn’t,” said Crockett. “I guess it didn’t roll our way this time. We just lost. We gotta come back and win the next one.”
