Seton Hall basketball: Rally falls short vs. Villanova; Big East title will have to wait

Seton Hall basketball: Rally falls short vs. Villanova; Big East title will have to wait 

Watch: Seton Hall celebrates Senior Night before Villanova game. Asbury Park Press NEWARK -- Myles Powell walked slowly into the interview room and pulled his hoodie tightly over his head as he sat down. He buried his face in his hands. “This one is rough,” he said. That it was. The stage was set for a triumphal, generational moment for Seton Hall basketball. Senior Night for one of the great classes in program history. A record-setting crowd of 16,863 at the Prudential Center. A chance to win the outright Big East regular-season title for the first time since 1993. The only problem? Villanova didn’t follow the script. The reigning champ threw its best punch, edging the eighth-ranked Hall 79-77 Wednesday.  Column: Getting Powell to MSG for the East Regional is the goal Seton Hall basketball seniors Myles Powell, Quincy McKnight, Asiah Avent and Romaro Gill (Photo: Jerry Carino) “We fought until we saw zeroes on the clock; I just wish it could have turned out a little better,” Powell said. “Villanova, they’re a top 10 basketball team. They handled our runs; they handled our crowd. That’s Villanova basketball. They have a legendary coach and they have good players.” Now the Pirates (21-8 overall, 13-4 Big East) will have to win at Creighton Saturday to capture the top seed in the Big East Tournament and avoid a title share. “I feel like we play better with our backs to the wall anyway,” Powell said.  No. 14 Villanova (23-7, 12-5) contributed to that by making 13 3-pointers and limiting Seton Hall’s senior trio. Powell (14 points on 5-of-18 shooting, 8 assists), Quincy McKnight (16 points on 6-of-14, 7 assists) and Ro Gill (6 points, 4 rebounds) never seized control the way they have so many times before. “They came in here and gave it to us,” McKnight said. “They gave us a good game. This is going to add fuel to the fire for us.” Seton Hall was trying to sweep Villanova for the first time since 1993, but the Wildcats controlled things throughout. After falling behind by 14, the Hall pulled within three in the closing seconds. Powell missed a game-tying 3-pointer from the right wing with five seconds left — sophomore Jared Rhoden appeared to whiff on a screen for him on the play — but junior Shavar Reynolds got fouled going for the rebound. With four seconds left, Reynolds made both free throws — playing the percentages, Hall coach Kevin Willard instructed him to not miss intentionally. And after Villanova made just one of two free throws at the other end, the Pirates got the ball upcourt to junior wing Myles Cale, whose game-winning 3-pointer missed the mark as time expired. “It’s tough, but that’s basketball,” McKnight said. “You take a whole bunch of tough losses through your life in basketball and you bounce back. It hurts; it definitely hurts, to lose like that on Senior Night.” NJ college basketball: In Episode 4 of Jersey Jump Shot our experts talk Myles Powell jersey Seton Hall's Myles Powell reacts after scoring during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Villanova. (Photo: John Minchillo, AP) FIVE TAKEAWAYS1. Give Villanova credit The Wildcats weren’t going to just show up and hand over the crown. This is a proud program that has won six of the seven Big East titles since the conference downsized. Villanova is young but has the talent to be a second-weekend NCAA Tournament team, and they brought the A-game in this one. The Cats' ball movement was outstanding, and they made Powell's life hard by siccing 6-foot-8, future NBA draft pick Saddiq Bey on him. Jay Wright also made excellent use of quick timeouts to stem any Pirate momentum and crowd frenzy.   It’s tough to dethrone the king. Wright said he thinks Seton Hall can win the NCAA Tournament, comparing their experience and toughness to that of last year's champion, Virginia.  "We played Baylor, we played Kansas and I think they're right up there with those guys," Wright said. "I definitely think they’re capable of winning it all.” McKnight appreciated the praise.  "He knows what it takes, so for him to say that about us, it's a great compliment," he said. "We're going to take that and run with it." 2. Shavar Reynolds stands tall All the attention was on Seton Hall’s seniors, but an unheralded junior might have been the Pirates’ key player.

Reynolds, the former walk-on and Manchester High School graduate, made all three of his 3-pointers and finished with 12 points. He also defended Bey better than any of his teammates despite giving up six inches.  He’s been the Pirates’ best sub this season, by far. Sandro Mamukelashvili paced the Hall with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 10 boards.  Seton Hall Pirates guard Quincy McKnight (0) reacts after making a basket against the Villanova Wildcats during the first half at Prudential Center. (Photo: Vincent Carchietta, Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports) 3. A special Senior Night It’s always a moving rite of passage, but this pregame ceremony reached another gear. The rolling roar for Powell, McKnight, Gill and Asiah Avent was louder and longer than any ovation in recent memory, perhaps going all the way back to Terry Dehere’s jersey retirement in 1993. It was good seeing Pirate legend Anthony Avent escort son Asiah onto the court, and classy move by Willard starting the walk-on. Myles Powell, All-American:  Senior's legacy at Seton Hall goes beyond the scoring The moment reached a crescendo when Powell embraced Willard. Tears streamed down both of Powell’s cheeks. It seemed like he didn’t want to let go. "He told me that he loved me," Powell said. "I heard the crowd start cheering. It just caught up to me. I love this building, I love my fans I love the university. So it was just an emotional night for me, and I just wish it could have turned out a little better."  It would have been a nice touch seeing Powell address the crowd. No Pirate has done that on Senior Night since Andre Barrett in 2004. But Willard didn’t want the other seniors to be overshadowed. 4. Seton Hall fans, take a bow They closed the season with tremendous crowds at home, capped by an all-time showing Wednesday. The streets outside the Prudential center were a circus before tip-off, with a sea of people congregating. Just about everyone managed to get to their seats on time for the ceremony. Breaking the attendance record was icing on the cake.  "I think a lot of people just enjoy how hard this team has played and what type of kids they are," Willard said. "The crowds have been great all year, they really have. Our fans have come out, the crowd tonight was phenomenal." Jerry Carino's ballot:  Associated Press Top 25 basketball poll They capped off the night by offering a standing ovation as the Pirates left the court in defeat. The players genuinely seemed to appreciate the gesture.  "We felt the love from everybody," McKnight said. "All the workers at the Prudential Center, the fans on the sideline, thanking us. Everybody loves us and we love everybody. Wish we could have gotten the win for our fans and ourselves." Fans can finish the job by flocking to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament and, in all likelihood, Albany’s Times-Union Center for the first weekend of the Big Dance. 5. Epilogue: One more shot After the final buzzer, Willard walked into a locker room of crying players.  "I love their heart," he said. "I love how much it means to them, I love the fact that they’re all hurting right now. If they didn’t care and it didn’t hurt, then they wouldn’t bounce back. But they do."  Powell embodied that spirit as he spoke with 30 or so reporters, his voice strengthening as he collected his thoughts. Gems fell from his lips.  "I'm almost at the finish line of what I started, not only on the basketball court, but I took another step in life as a man," he said. "I just want to say thank you to everybody — my family and friends, the fans, you guys (reporters).

It was a pleasure. I just wish we were having a different conversation." Well, the beauty of sports is that it doesn't follow a script. Seton Hall has some big chapters left to write.  "It's hard, but I'm built for adversity," Powell said. "This definitely won't break me. I'll be ready for Creighton on Saturday. I'll do my best to lead this team like I've been doing all year, to lead them to a championship." Autoplay Show Thumbnails Show Captions Last SlideNext SlideDEHERE WATCH Where does Myles Powell stand on Seton Hall’s all-time scoring list? 1. Terry Dehere 2,494 2. Nick Werkman 2,273 3. Myles Powell 2,238 4. Jeremy Hazell 2,146 5. Greg Tynes 2,059 6. Dan Callandrillo 1,985 7. Andre McCloud 1,976 8. Mark Bryant 1,906 9. Andre Barrett 1,861 10. Khadeen Carrington 1,846 Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.