Jamar Smith posted a game-high 28 points on 8-for-21 shooting against Seton Hall on Saturday.
Boxscore
NEWARK, N.J. – Jamar Nutter scored 29 points and Brian Laing scored 20 to lead Seton Hall to an 89-81 win against Morgan State in front of 5,210 fans at the Prudential Center in downtown Newark.
Seton Hall bounced back from a loss on Thursday night in their conference-opener against UConn to improve to a 10-4 record, while the Bears dropped their third consecutive game and fall to 6-7 overall.
Jamar Smith scored 19 of his career-high 28 points (8-21 FG) in the second half, while Marquise Kately added 16 points and Boubacar Coly chipped in eight points and finished with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Smith, who celebrated his 23rd birthday, shot 11-for-12 from the free throw line and matched a career-high by collecting 12 rebounds.
Seton Hall led by as many as 10 points early on before senior Karanvir Aujla nailed a three-pointer to help ignite a 9-2 run by the Bears to trim the lead to 24-21 with 7:28 remaining in the first half.
The Bears would go on to cut the lead to 37-35 following consecutive three-point plays by Kately and Coly. Eugene Harvey hit four free throws in the final seconds to give the Pirates a 41-35 lead at the break.
Harvey finished with 12 points and paced the Pirates offensive attack with eight assists, while Jeremy Hazell scored 15.
The Bears pulled close in the second half. Smith drained a 3-pointer to make it 63-54, and then a basket and free throw by Aujla made it 63-57.
But then Nutter made one of his four 3-pointers for the game to make it 66-57 and the Pirates led by at least eight points the rest of the way.
Seton Hall finished 7-for-16 from behind the arc, while the Bears were 3-for-13.
Despite the Pirates’ size advantage, Morgan State finished with a 40-38 rebound advantage including a 20-12 edge on the offensive end. That did not matter as the Bears missed a number of chip shots and ended the game by shooting 36.8% (25-68) from the field, while the Pirates shot 50.8% (31-61).
The Bears will have a few days to prepare for the beginning of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) action when they travel to Greensboro (NC) to square-off against the Aggies of North Carolina A&T. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Corbett Sports Center.
