Hall In’s return to a sold-out Walsh Gymnasium ended in disappointment Tuesday night as Boeheim's Army controlled the game from start to finish, defeating the Seton Hall alumni team 82-52 in Game 1 of their best-of-three first-round series in The Basketball Tournament (TBT).
Hall In never held a lead, falling behind 7-2 in the opening minutes and spending the rest of the night trying to chip away at the deficit. The Pirates alumni cut the margin to four points late in the first quarter, but Boeheim's Army answered with a run to take a 21-15 lead into the second quarter. The Syracuse alumni extended their advantage to 15 by halftime and continued to pull away after the break, shooting 50.8% from the field while holding Hall In to 32.8% and controlling both ends of the floor.
Hall In struggled offensively from tip-off, shooting just 32.8% from the field and 20.7% (6-for-29) from 3-point range. Terry Roberts led the Pirates with 19 points, while Ant Nelson added 11 as the only Hall In players to score in double figures. Al-Amir Dawes, who shot 38.5% from beyond the arc during his SHU career, had an uncharacteristically rough night, finishing 0-for-10 from 3-point range and scoring eight points. Hall In was also without several key alumni, including Isaiah Whitehead and Myles Cale, leaving the Pirates shorthanded against one of the tournament favorites.
Syracuse alumnus and former Toronto Raptors guard Cole Swider led the scorers with 28 points, knocking down six 3-pointers and silencing the Walsh Gym crowd. Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu added 17 points and 11 rebounds, while putting back multiple putback dunks throughout the game.
With the loss, Hall In trails the best-of-three opening-round series 0-1 and must win Game 2 to keep their tournament run alive. The series moves to Syracuse for Game 2 on Thursday at Upstate Medical Arena at The Oncenter War Memorial. A Hall In win would force a win-or-go-home Game 3 on Friday, while another Boeheim's Army win would send the Syracuse alumni into the next round.
Jaden Highsmith is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at jaden.highsmith@student.shu.edu.
