No. 13 Seton Hall beats Southern Miss 81-56 in Atlantis

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Myles Powell scored 18 points to help No. 13 Seton Hall beat Southern Miss 81-56 Thursday night in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Sandro Mamukelashvili added 14 points for the Pirates, who were playing in the losers’ bracket after blowing a 19-point, second-half lead against No. 11 Oregon on Wednesday. Seton Hall (5-2) shot 51% and led by double figures throughout the second half.

Gabe Watson had 18 points for the Golden Eagles (2-5), who kept hanging around and trailed by a bucket in the final 3 minutes before halftime. Seton Hall stretched its lead to 40-31 at the break, then pushed it to 60-44 on a three-point play by Myles Cale with 9:49 left.

Seton Hall lost starting point guard Quincy McKnight to cramping in his right leg with 12:51 left. The senior jumped to attempt a pass deflection and fell over in pain without making contact with any other player.

McKnight was carried to the bench before making his way back to the locker-room area. He did not return to the bench.

BIG PICTURE

Seton Hall: The Pirates were playing the final of four Thanksgiving Day-games at the Atlantis resort. They led by between 12 and 16 points for much of the second half, but they didn’t look much like the team that came roaring out of halftime to build the big lead on Oregon, either. Powell scored 32 points with seven 3-pointers in that game, but had a tougher shooting night this time around (5 of 15 from the field, 2 of 9 from behind the arc).

Southern Miss: First-year coach Jay Ladner has talked since arriving in the Bahamas about this being a big step up in competition for a team picked to finish last in Conference USA, particularly when it comes to showing his team what top-tier programs look like up close. The first game didn’t go well — a 94-69 loss to No. 8 Gonzaga — but his team did a better job of tussling with a more talented opponent. Still, Southern Miss managed a meaningless 3 with 11 seconds left as its lone basket in the final 7 minutes.

UP NEXT

Seton Hall: The Pirates will face Iowa State in Friday’s fifth-place game.

Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles will face Alabama in Friday’s seventh-place game.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at https://twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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