NCAAB: DePaul rallies in final seconds, upsets Seton Hall in Big East tourney

Date:

Share post:


Umoja Gibson made three clutch free throws and 10th-seeded DePaul survived a last-second officiating scare to stun seventh-seeded Seton Hall 66-65 and end a 12-game losing streak in the first round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday in New York.

Seton Hall choked away a 65-61 lead in the final seven seconds of the game. Jalen Terry made a layup to cut DePaul’s deficit to 65-63, the Blue Demons stole the inbounds pass and Gibson was fouled by KC Ndefo shooting a 3-pointer.

After Gibson sank all three foul shots, Femi Odukale had 3.9 seconds to race from coast to coast to attempt a winning layup. Nick Ongenda swatted the lofted shot at the buzzer and the referees initially called it goaltending, which would have awarded Seton Hall two points and the victory. After a review, they ruled Ongenda blocked the shot before it got close enough above the basket to be in danger of goaltending.

The Blue Demons (10-22) advanced to the next round to face second-seeded Xavier on Thursday night. The Pirates (17-15) watched their Big East tournament stay end in dramatic and disappointing fashion.

Javan Johnson scored a game-high 19 points for DePaul. Ongenda scored 15, Terry had 14 and shot 4-for-4 from 3-point range and Gibson added 10 points. Tyrese Samuel led Seton Hall with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Ndefo had 14 points and eight rebounds, Al-Amir Dawes scored 12 points and Jamir Harris added 10.

DePaul whittled a nine-point second-half deficit to two when Johnson sank his fifth 3-pointer of the night with 3:59 to go. Dawes knocked down a mid-range jumper and Samuel made two foul shots for a five-point lead at the one-minute mark, but Terry made a deep trey to cut it to 63-61 with 42 seconds left.

Neither team led by more than four during a tight first half. Ndefo, a career 18.7 percent 3-point shooter, made an open triple for a 21-20 Seton Hall lead with 8:33 remaining before the break. Neither team scored again for three minutes, until Ndefo stuffed a shot at one end of the floor and got free at the other end for another 3-pointer.

The Blue Demons closed the half on a 10-2 run bookended by 3-pointers from Gibson and Terry, forging a 32-28 halftime lead.

The Pirates were clinging to a 38-37 lead when Odukale lobbed up a baseline inbounds pass and Samuel dunked over a DePaul defender. That play thrilled the crowd and launched an 8-0 stretch that gave the Pirates their largest lead, 46-37.

Johnson hit consecutive 3-pointers to end the Blue Demons’ 8:45 field goal drought and slice the deficit to three. Harris later made two free throws and drilled a corner 3-pointer falling down to make it 53-45 Pirates with 7:02 to play.

–Field Level Media

spot_img

Related articles

WNBA: Caitlin Clark’s return scores massive ratings on ABC

Caitlin Clark's return Saturday after a five-game injury absence was ESPN's third most-watched WNBA game ever on ABC. The...

WNBA: Aces’ A’ja Wilson (concussion protocol) out again Tuesday

The Las Vegas Aces will be without three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player A'ja Wilson when they face the...

NBA: Report: Pacers G Tyrese Haliburton believed to have right calf strain

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is believed to have strained his right calf during a Game 5 loss...

NBA: Thirteen more players withdraw from NBA draft pool

Thirteen additional early entry candidates have withdrawn their names from consideration in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, the...

FREE

Get the most important breaking news and analyses for Free.

Thank you for subscribing

Something went wrong.