Seton Hall Basketball: Myles Powell shoots Pirates past Lions

Myles Powell was lights out and Seton Hall basketball crushed Columbia on the offensive glass.

After finishing off their recent trip to the Advocare Invitational with a tough 66-52 loss to Stanford, the Seton Hall Pirates were looking to rebound quickly at the Prudential Center on Thursday night.

Thanks to Myles Powell and some ferocious paint play, the Pirates did just that, crushing the Columbia Lions, 95-71, to improve to 5-2 on the season.

Powell, Angel Delgado, Khadeen Carrington and Desi Rodriguez combined to score 74 points, but the freshman was the most impactful performer.

With point guard Madison Jones missing some practice time earlier this week due to a hyperextended knee, Powell was inserted into the starting lineup. He answered the call by scoring 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and dishing out three assists.

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Columbia kept the game close for a half and even had the Pirates’ lead down to just five with 17:16 remaining in the game. But that’s when Powell took over the game for good.

The Trenton, NJ native hit four threes in a three minute span to help extend the Pirates’ lead to double digits (14 points). He scored 12 of his 21 points in the second frame and all seven of his field goals on Thursday night came from beyond the arc.

This isn’t the first time that the Pirates have seen this from Powell this season. The freshman has been consistently good, as he is third on the team in points per game and has scored in double figures in five of Hall’s first seven games. Add in the fact that Powell recorded a career high 26 points in a win over Iowa in Florida, and Pirates head coach Kevin Willard has been beyond impressed.

“We didn’t not expect the work ethic,” Willard said when asked if he expected Powell to be this good this fast. “We had been recruiting him since he was a freshman and everyone had always told me he was a little lazy. I should have known by the way he attacks donuts that he would not be lazy once he got in shape. Because once he got in shape, he is one of the hardest working kids we’ve had.

“Once he lost all his weight (45 pounds in the offseason), his game has transformed. He can play longer, he’s not just shooting threes, he’s getting to the rim, he’s making good moves. I think his game has really changed because he’s worked so hard to change his body.”

Powell, who has averaged 13.2 points so far this year, has proven to be a dynamic weapon, but the Pirates’ offensive rebounding and paint play is not far behind.

Seton Hall pounded Columbia on the glass, 37-23, and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds. Angel Delgado recorded his third double-double of the season and Ismael Sanogo returned from a shoulder injury to corral eight boards.

“It’s huge,” Willard said about getting Sanogo back in the lineup. “Ish with that first unit, (he) covers for everybody. (He) really does a phenomenal job defensively. It’s amazing how many phone calls I get on a daily basis, ‘oh I love watching that kid Sanogo play.'”

Next: Five reasons why the Wildcats of Villanova will win it all

This win isn’t going to be a resume building victory moving forward for the Pirates, however, it did prove that Seton Hall still has plenty of weapons with Isaiah Whitehead out the door. The Big East is currently the second best conference in basketball, but the Pirates aren’t going anywhere. They will be knocking on the door of the league’s top four all season long.

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Seton Hall Basketball: Myles Powell shoots Pirates past Columbia

By Carmine Carcieri | Dec 2, 2016

Myles Powell was lights out and Seton Hall basketball crushed Columbia on the offensive glass.

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