Seton Hall basketball shocks No. 7 Marquette — and the nation
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NEWARK – The question was posed to Al-Amir Dawes after Seton Hall basketball’s 78-75 takedown of seventh-ranked Marquette Saturday, but it could have been asked to anyone and everyone in the Pirates’ locker room.
At the low points, how did you stick with it?
Before the postgrad guard could answer, teammate Kadary Richmond grabbed the microphone on the interview dais and said, “shooters shoot.” That’s an incisive summary of how the Pirates – who had been left for dead – achieved a remarkable turnaround and climbed onto the national scene by beating three ranked opponents in the past 18 days.
They kept plugging away and had each other’s backs, as symbolized by Richmond jumping in to answer for Dawes.
“Our togetherness is through the roof,” Dawes said. “No matter what we’re going through, ups and downs, we’re connected. That’s one thing I am enjoying is we’re together – and when you’re together, you can achieve anything.”
That’s hard to argue. Seton Hall (10-5 overall, 3-1 in the Big East) now has three Quad 1 victories, including Wednesday’s triumph at No. 23 Providence and the Dec. 20 shocker over fifth-ranked and defending national champ UConn. That’s resume-building gold. Taking down Marquette (11-4, 2-2), which had beaten the Hall four straight times, might have been the toughest trick yet.
But Dawes (23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 3 assists), Richmond (21 points, 5 assists) and fellow senior Dre Davis (11 points, 7 rebounds) were up to the task – with an assist from a sold-out, rocking Prudential Center crowd of 10,500.
At this rate, it’s going to be tough to continue to call the Hall an underdog.
“We expect to win games like this,” Dawes said. “This is what we’re here for. To see that it’s finally working and we’re finally getting it, seeing that is pretty nice.”
FIVE TAKEAWAYS
1. Al Dawes, take a bow
He has struggled at times and been much maligned on social media and message boards, but the Newark native showed what he’s capable of. His 15 first-half points staked the Pirates to a 42-39 halftime lead, and his ball-handling as Richmond sat with fouls trouble was essential.
“I’ve just been in the gym,” he said. “Even when my days have been too low, I’ve been in the gym because that’s the place that got me here. I always take it to the gym and solve my problems there.”
Dawes, took smart shots, made all five of his free throws and helped Marquette’s All-American point guard, Tyler Kolek, to five points, six assists (Kolek took just six shots and committed three turnovers). Richmond spearheaded the group effort against Kolek, made possible by timely switches and good communication.
“Sticking to the plan, knowing when to switch and when not to – we really focused on the details,” Dawes said. “We did our homework.”
To Holloway’s credit, his faith in Dawes never wavered.
“Al works on his shot every single day, before practice, after practice — I’ve gotta get him out of…
Read More: Seton Hall basketball shocks No. 7 Marquette — and the nation 2024-01-06 19:13:44