Something special is brewing in South Orange. Down 10 at the end of the first half with nothing working offensively, Seton Hall found itself tasked with coming from behind by double digits Hinkle Fieldhouse against a top-five Butler squad. Instead of rolling over and succumbing to a stifling Butler defense, the Pirates did what they do best. They fought back. Sparked by dominant play in the paint by Romaro Gill, timely scores by Myles Powell and a defensive effort that forced Butler into a six and a half minute field goal drought, Seton Hall used a second-half surge to secure a massive NCAA Tournament resume win and a 5-0 start in Big East play for the first time in program history by a final score of 78-70. Gill finished with 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Seton Hall’s seven-footer was also dominant on the defensive end, blocking three shots and making life tough on Butler at the rim with physical shot contests before fouling out. Powell chipped in 19 of his 29 points in the second half. Up 70-68 with under a minute remaining, Jared Rhoden got left wide open on the wing and the junior made the Butler pay with the biggest shot of his college career to put Seton Hall up by five with 35 seconds left. Rhoden’s three proved to be the dagger, as Seton Hall iced the game with free throws, a defensive stop and a Rhoden dunk with time winding down as the exclamation point. Seton Hall came out on fire, shooting 5-6 from the field and 2-3 from three to build a 12-7 lead by the under-16 timeout. The Pirates extended their lead to 17-8 coming out of the timeout, but that was as good as things got for The Hall in the first half. Butler responded with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to two and never let up on both ends of the floor for the remainder of the half as Seton Hall’s offense descended into dormancy. Butler overtook Seton Hall by the under-eight timeout, taking the lead for the first time at 25-24 following two Aaron Thompson free throws. The Bulldogs kept their foot on the gas after jumping ahead, ripping off a 17-2 lead to gain a 36-26 advantage. Quincy McKnight snapped the run with a three, but Butler answered with a Kamar Baldwin three on its ensuing possession to remain in command. A reverse layup by Sean McDermott at the first-half buzzer gave Butler a comfortable 40-30 lead heading into the locker room. Seton Hall’s halftime adjustments were evident at the beginning of the second half, as it ripped off a 7-2 run to cut Butler’s lead to 42-37 by the under-16 timeout. Romaro Gill got more involved with the offense with five consecutive point, but Butler responded with a McDermott three and Derrik Smits jump hook to make it 51-43, prompting a Seton Hall timeout. Gill continued his strong play on the offensive end out of the timeout, slamming home a dunk plus a foul to make it 51-46. The 7-foot-2 center took over from there, spearheading Seton Hall’s comeback effort. A Powell three-pointer put Seton Hall back in front for the first time since the halfway point of the first half and from there, the two teams traded blows for the remainder of the night. McDermott fouled Gill out with an and-one at the 3:48 mark and put Butler up 66-65, but the Bulldogs’ lead was short-lived. Jared Rhoden hit two free throws at the other end and Powell followed with a three on Seton Hall’s ensuing offensive possession to make it 70-66 with three minutes remaining. Butler’s Derrik Smits cut the lead to 70-68 with under a minute remaining before Rhoden to put Seton Hall up five. Quincy McKnight and Ike Obiagu iced the game at the free-throw line to give Seton Hall its 13th win of the season. Next up for Seton Hall is a Saturday matinee with St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. Tyler Calvaruso can be reached at tyler.calvaruso@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @tyler_calvaruso.
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