That was a rock fight.
Seton Hall Men's Basketball beat Rutgers, 45-43, in a shocker in the Garden State Hardwood Classic at Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway.
Rutgers now has lost two games in a row and is 6-4 overall. This was its first loss at home this year. Seton Hall had lost four games in a row to Division-I opponents. The Pirates now lead the all-time series 42-31. The teams first met in 1919 and have played 58 times since 1974-75.
Seton Hall is 6-4.
It took a while for Rutgers to get going as there was a gritty, defensive battle on hand early, but the Scarlet Knights closed the first half on a 14-3 run to take a 26-22 lead. They were 7-of-7 from the foul line in the opening 20 minutes, but committed nine turnovers.
Cliff Omoruyi, in foul trouble once again, came back off the bench make both free throws of a one-and-one. He then converted a three-point play with an emphatic dunk and another foul shot. A layup by Antwone Woolfolk tied the game up at 19-19, and Aundre Hyatt made a 3-pointer to take Rutgers' first lead since 5-3.
Rutgers was leading by seven after another Hyatt triple at the 14:41 mark int he second half
Seton Hall wouldn't go away as it regained the lead 34-33. A Rutgers turnover was finished off by a layup on the other end to tie it, and another bad pass led to a made free throw. Rutgers went about five minutes without a point. A Mulcahy free throw ended the 8-0 Seton Hall run.
Dre Davis put the Pirates ahead 40-38 on a layup with 6:40 remaining. That was followed up by a turnovers by Caleb McConnell, Rutgers' 19th of the night. McConnell knotted the score at 43-43 with a free throw. KC Ndefo rolled the rim and got an easy layup to go down to make it 45-43 Pirates.
Hyatt missed a jumper with the shot clock winding down. Review gave the ball to Seton Hall. McConnell blocked an attempt at the rim to get it back to his team, but Rutgers, at this point, hadn't scored in the last 3:11.
Rutgers had chances as time winded down, but it missed two attempts at the basked in the final six seconds. Rutgers missed its last six shots and 11 of 13 of the game. Mulcahy and Hyatt each missed layups inside six seconds.
It appeared Seton Hall stepped out of bounds after the rebound, but it was not called --again.
Key stat:
Turnovers -- Both teams played solid defense and each turned the ball over quite a bit. Rutgers ended the first half with nine turnovers and Seton Hall had eight. Rutgers cashed in scoring nine points off those miscues while Seton Hall had just two. That continued in the second half, especially by Rutgers, which kept Seton Hall in the game. Rutgers finished with 19 turnovers and Seton Hall had 15.
TURNING POINT: 14-3 RUN BY RUTGERS TO END THE FIRST HALF
The Pirates led 19-12 with 6:16 to go, but Omoruyi sparked a surge by the home team to ignite the crowd and take a four-point lead.
RHoops play of the Day: Mulcahy's assist to Omoruyi for the dunk
Up next: Rutgers has almost a week before its next game on Saturday at home against Wake Forest at noon. That game can be seen on BTN.
Right now, the Demon Deacons are 7-3 overall coming off of a close 72-70 loss to LSU on Saturday. Wake Forest plays Appalachian State on Wednesday night on ACC Network before coming up to New Jersey.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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