Seton Hall basketball drops gritty Big East opener to Providence

NEWARK – Al-Amir Dawes had the game-tying 3-pointer all lined up from straightaway, without a hand in his face.

It was the best possible look for Seton Hall with four seconds left in Saturday's tooth-and-nail Big East basketball opener against Providence. But the ball didn't go in for Dawes, who came into the game as the Pirates' top 3-point shooter at 44 percent on the season, and the Pirates wound up losing 71-67.

"It wasn’t really set up for me; it was anyone who is open," Dawes said of the sequence. "I was just ready and making sure it was the right spot at the right time. I just didn’t knock it down. The look was clean. I just didn’t come through.”

And so the Hall wound up one play short against Providence before a rocking but ultimately bummed crowd of 10,000 at Prudential Center.

“He had a good look," Hall coach Shaheen Holloway said. "I thought Kadary (Richmond) did a good job getting in the lane creating. He caused a lot of people to come towards him and we got one of our better shooters a good look. That’s all you could ask for.”

Despite a 28-point, 9-rebound, 5-assist masterpiece by Richmond, Seton Hall (7-5) could not overcome foul trouble and depth problems inside as Providence (9-3) wore down a small lineup and overcome a nine-point halftime deficit. The defending Big East regular-season champ showed some grit and knew how to close it out.

"With our physicality in the second half, were two totally different teams," Friars coach Ed Cooley said. "Every single possession we were trying to impose our will in front of the rim."

Cooley called it an "old-school Big East game" and said of Seton Hall, “His kids fought hard. They just missed a couple of wide-open shots. I could have gone either way.”

Hall starting guard Femi Odukale, a defensive specialist, sat out after spraining an ankle in Wednesday’s win over Drexel. His status appears to be game-to-game.

“I thought we missed Femi just because he’s a good defender, another guy that could create some offense, and I thought his offense is coming along," Holloway said. "I thought his confidence was coming back, and we miss him. We need him back...I hope we have him back sooner rather than later."

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Richmond lights it up

Seton Hall fans were wondering when Richmond would repeat last January’s 27-point explosion at UConn. This was the time. The junior point guard exhibited the take-it-over quality that no one else on the roster possesses.

"I thought he was aggressive, played hard," Holloway said. "As long as he’s aggressive and he’s healthy, that’s the kid everyone was expecting.”

Richmond shot 6-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, breaking down Providence's defense over and over. He committed just two turnovers in 33 minutes.

“I was just playing basketball and executing what coach Sha want out there – passion, aggression and running the team," Richmond said.

“When he has it going like that, I feel like our offense just clicks and flows," postgrad forward KC Ndefo said. "We’ve got to just help more the defensive end, getting more stops.”

Richmond's continued improvement under Holloway is a huge plus and a necessity going forward.

“Nightmares," Cooley said of facing Richmond. "He’s a talented big guard who can make threes, do it off the bounce, he can post. Really, really good player and Seton Hall’s going to win a lot of basketball games because of him.”

2. Going small?

When starting center Tyrese Samuel picked up three fouls, Holloway repeated his strategy from the win at Rutgers last week. He rolled with a small lineup, trusting the 6-foot-7, 215-pound Ndefo to hold down the paint. It was a big ask – the Friars sport some bulk inside – and Ndefo could only do so much against 240-pound Ed Croswell. Credit Providence for attacking accordingly, with Croswell and forward Bryce Hopkins combining for 45 points on 16-of-27 shooting.

Twice in his postgame interview session, Holloway was asked about why he stuck with the small lineup.

“I just played that way because I just thought those guys were battling better today," he said the first time.

Asked again, he replied, “That’s the decision I made. The kids played well. We didn’t defend. Samuel had four fouls.”

Samuel had three for much of the time he sat, but either way, the Hall needs more from the senior, who finished with four points, no rebounds and four fouls in 10 minutes. This is where the absence of injured power forward Alexis Yetna, who is on the mend from a knee injury, was enormous. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Yetna does appear to be moving around without any sign of trouble, an improvement from earlier this season. A return sometime in January remains the goal.

3. Fouls, turnovers turned tide

Seton Hall was in command at the half with a 36-27 lead. That edge evaporated as the Pirates committed four fouls and three turnovers in the first 4:40 after the break.

“I thought (Providence) came out with a little bit more juice in the second half," Holloway said. “We’ve just gotta come out and play with energy and passion the whole game."

All told, Providence scored 21 points off 14 Seton Hall turnovers, going plus-five in the category. And key Pirates were in foul trouble much of the night – two early ones for Ndefo, four for Samuel, four for Richmond.

“We have to push harder, whether it’s being more physical or getting stops on the defensive end, it’s us being more aware and having more urgency," Dawes said.

“We knew it was going to be a physical game coming into this, and I feel like the refs did a good job," Ndefo said. "We’ve got to get better.”

4. Crowd gets an A

This marked the season’s biggest crowd, and the fans brought it from the tip. The vibe clearly energized the Hall, but credit Providence for collecting itself after falling behind by nine. Expect a similar turnout for the Pirates’ next home game, against St. John’s Dec. 31.

“Crowd was definitely there,” Dawes said. “I had fun when things were going good, but we came up empty-handed.”

5. Tough road ahead

The Pirates are staring at a difficult road two-fer – at Xavier (9-3) Tuesday and at Marquette (9-3) Dec. 27. Can they steal one? Opening Big East play at 0-3 would be digging an enormous hole. In terms of overcoming hostile environments, a team that wins at Rutgers can win anywhere. Can't afford a five-minute lapse, though.

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.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball loses to Providence in Big East opener