Seton Hall prevailed after trailing at halftime for the eighth time this season, taking down Georgetown 51-47 in a defensive battle Saturday night in Newark.
The Pirates (19-9, 9-8 Big East) only scored two points in the last four minutes and finished 0-18 from three-point range, but still earned a key victory to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Najai Hines was the only Pirate in double figures with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Georgetown (13-14, 5-11) has lost four in a row. They led 27-20 at halftime and are now 1-6 in games decided by four points or less this season.
KJ Lewis went to the line for Georgetown with 22.9 seconds left with the Hoyas down 49-46. He made the first free throw and his second rattled on the rim and then sat unmoving on the back iron. That triggered the possession arrow giving the Hoyas the ball back, but Elijah Fisher was able to poke the ball away from Vincent Iwuchukwu for Seton Hall.
Adam “Budd: Clark made two free throws with 16.3 seconds left and it was just enough for Seton Hall.
It was the lowest point total of the season for both teams.
Lewis was the only Georgetown player in double figures with 10. Georgetown shot 27.3% from the floor for the game, Seton Hall shot 30.9%.
After trailing for most of the second half, Seton Hall took a 45-44 lead on a pair of free throws by Hines with 5:57 left in the game.
Both teams came out firing blanks. The Pirates missed their first five shots. Georgetown went 2-11 and the score was tied at seven after nine minutes of play.
Seton Hall had the first surge. Clark scored on a fadeaway at the 9:09 mark, Stephon Payne and Parker each made a free throw and AJ Staton McCray hit a floater to put the Pirates up 16-11.
The rest of the half belonged to Georgetown. Julius Halaifonua started things off with a basket inside, then scored on a dunk to make it 19-16 Hoyas. It turned into a 16-1 run for Georgetown who led by as much as 10 before the Pirates scored the last three points of the half.
