NEWARK, N.J. –  The Georgetown University men's basketball team came up short in a Saturday night BIG EAST battle, falling 51-47 to the Seton Hall University Pirates at Prudential Center. With the setback in Newark, the Hoyas slip to 13-14 on the season with a 5-11 record in BIG EAST play while the Pirates improve to 19-9 with a 9-8 record in league action.
 
ON THE RECORD
"You gotta give credit to Seton Hall and gotta give credit to their grit and toughness. They rebounded the ball really well. Offensive rebound. They came up with some big plays in critical parts of the game. I'm really disappointed in how the game ended for us, as this has been a repeat story this year up to this point here. Hopefully we can change that. We have a really quick turnaround. We have a quick ride home, and hopefully we can keep our guys positive." - Head Coach Ed Cooley
 
HOYA HIGHLIGHTS

• KJ Lewis was the lone Hoya in double figures with 10 points on three made field goals, including a triple, as well as a 3-for-4 performance from the charity stripe.
• Vince Iwuchukwu led the Hoyas on the glass with eight rebounds, followed by Caleb Williams and Julius Halaifonua who each grabbed seven.
• C. Williams dished out a squad-best four assists to pace the offense.
• For the game, Georgetown shot 27.3% (15-55).
• The Blue & Gray was outmatched on the glass as Seton Hall tallied 44 rebounds to GU's 38.

 
PIRATE HIGHLIGHTS

• Najai Hines led the Pirate scoring with 12 points on 3-for-3 shooting and a 6-for-7 performance from the charity stripe. Hines also led SHU on the glass with a game-best 10 rebounds.
• The trio of Adam Clark, Tajua Simpkins and Trey Parker paced the offense with two assists each.
• Seton Hall shot 30.9% (17-55) for the game.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Georgetown got on the board first, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers to take the 6-0 lead. Seton Hall slowly chipped away, tying the game at 7-7 less than five minutes later. A Malik Mack layup would give the Blue & Gray the lead once again but it would not hold as SHU staged a 9-2 run to take the 16-11 advantage (6:49).
• The Hoya defense clamped down, limiting Seton Hall to just one point through nearly six minutes of action, utilizing a 16-1 run. Halaifonua tallied eight points of his own during the run, while C. Williams (4), Mack (2) and Lewis (2) all chipped in as well.
• The home team tallied three points to send the teams into the locker rooms with the Hoyas up 27-20.
• Both teams traded buckets to start the second stanza but back-to-back Seton Hall buckets made it a one-possession game before a Mulready triple gave GU some breathing room.
• Trading points again, Seton Hall strung together four in a row to make it a one-point game (33-32, 14:08), but this time it was the long ball from Mack to extend the lead. Seton Hall wouldn't go away, clawing back to 36-35. Jeremiah Williams drove through traffic and nailed the layup to keep the lead.
• Back-to-back buckets from Iwuchukwu and Lewis made it a two-possession game (43-37) but the Pirates continued to fight, staging a 10-3 run over 5:08 to take a 49-46 lead (4:22).
• The Hoyas had chances down the stretch but free throws provided the final 51-47 score.

 
OF NOTE

• The Hoyas held Seton Hall to just 20 points in the first half, the lowest amount of points scored by an opponent in a half this season.
• Georgetown's defensive effort also held SHU to zero 3-pointers in the game.

 
UP NEXT
Georgetown returns to action on Tuesday, February 24, when taking on the Marquette University Golden Eagles at Capital One Arena . Tipoff in the District is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Peacock with Justin Kutcher calling the play-by-play and Brendan Haywood providing analysis. The game can be heard locally on Team 980 as well as on the SiriusXM app with Rich Chvotkin, in his 52nd season as the Voice of the Hoyas, calling the action.