Seton Hall basketball survives Marquette as Rhoden, Reynolds come through

With seven minutes left and Seton Hall basketball struggling against Marquette Sunday, Pirates coach Kevin Willard turned to his point guard with four fouls.

“Coach said, ‘I don’t know if I can keep you out much longer,’” Shavar Reynolds said. “You’ve got to go in soon. I’m glad he had some trust in me to be smart enough not to pick up my fifth.”

Not only did Reynolds avoid fouling out; the senior from Manchester Township dragged the Pirates across the finish line, posting eight points and two assists down the stretch of a 57-51 victory at the Prudential Center.

“He’s the focal point of this team and does a great job of keeping everybody together,” said junior forward Jared Rhoden, who scored a team-high 20 points. “Within the last four minutes he got us all in the huddle and started yelling at us to keep pushing and get his win. That was big for us.”

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They did, improving to 12-8 overall and 9-5 in the Big East, and avoided a resume catastrophe in the process. Coming in with a NET ranking of 44, the Pirates need to collect wins and avoid bad losses. Marquette (9-12, 5-10), which has lost five of the past six, would have dented their profile.

Reynolds is no stranger to big moments against the Golden Eagles. The former walk-on hit the late go-ahead shot in December’s win in Milwaukee. The Hall now has beaten Marquette six straight times and he’s been a key factor in just about every one of them.

“Shavar, he knows I have total confidence in him, so I just told him to keep being aggressive,” Willard said. “We needed someone to get in the lane and try to create, and he was great.”

The point guard situation was dire because Reynolds’ capable backup, postgrad Bryce Aiken, sat out with knee tendinitis. So when Reynolds went to the bench with fouls the offense imploded. He reentered in time to steady the ship, cashing in on the 10-foot pull-up that has become a staple for him.

“Everything I’ve done in a game, I’ve practiced a thousand times,” he said. “I’ve worked to be ready for any moment.”

He credited his dad, retired Navy chief Shavar Reynolds Sr., with honing his pull-up.

“That started out with me and my dad from when I started playing basketball,” he said. “I’d have to make 7 of 10. If I didn’t make 7 of 10, I’d have to start over. That’s where the midrange comes from.”

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. They missed Aiken badly

Point guard is the most important position in college basketball, and this game reinforced why. Seton Hall simply could not function offensively without Reynolds or Aiken. Standout big man Sandro Mamukelashvili has point-forward potential but he's been averaging nearly five turnovers per game of late. 

When the oft-injured Aiken returns is anybody's guess. Tendinitis in his left knee is what plagued him in the preseason and why he wasn't cleared for contact until right before the opener. It's something that can only be addressed with rest or reduced activity.

"It really hurts us because when he’s out there, we’re such a better basketball team," Willard said. "Going forward, I’m not sure how long (Aiken's absence) is going to be."

Aiken is getting an MRI Monday. 

"He didn’t practice all week, so I’m trying to get (him) some rest," Willard said. "He’s got some really good tendinitis in there. He’s giving everything he can possibly give to be on the court, he’s rehabbing, he’s working, but it’s one of those things unfortunately that it’s really tough. It’s frustrating for him, it’s frustrating for me, but this time of year, he’s gotta try to figure it out.”

Willard added, "We don’t think it’s anything new...he might be having some scar tissue (from a previous ACL surgery), but we’ve just got to make sure we do the right thing. He’s been battling this since the Providence game (10 days ago)." 

2. Reynolds can't afford to foul

It’s hard to change who you are, but without reinforcements, Reynolds has to pick his spots of aggression and avoid the needless push-off offensive foul that he gets from time to time.

Freshman point guard Jahari's Long’s development has been hampered by the lack of reps he would have gotten over a normal 11-game non-conference schedule, plus the COVID shutdown right before the season opener. The third-stringer does not appear ready for extended minutes at this point. His only stats over 18 minutes were four turnovers and one missed jumper.

“With Bryce out, I definitely have to watch my foul trouble," Reynolds said. 

3. Jared Rhoden stepped up

The junior forward delivered 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. This was crucial output on a day when nothing came easy for the offense. He also helped seal the outcome on the defensive end with a late steal and deflection. 

"He settled us down in the second half and showed a lot of confidence shooting the basketball," Willard said. "I was really happy with the way he played offensively, but more importantly, I thought he played great defensively.”

Rhoden also looked for his teammates when double-teams came. Four assists ties a career high. 

"I've been handling the ball more in practice," Rhoden said. "Seeing the court has always been something I've been capable of doing, and it's something I want to continue to do."

4. Moving the chains

This had a survive-and-advance feel to it. Yes, the Hall held Marquette to 30 percent shooting, including 3-of-25 from deep, but the Golden Eagl bricked a lot of open looks. So did the Pirates, but to their credit, they found a way. 

"That's what Seton Hall is about right there," Rhoden said. "Offense wasn't so sharp and clicking, but we did what we had to do."

Remember: There is no such thing as an ugly league win, although this really tested that maxim .

5. What’s left

The Hall most likely will be favored over the next three games. Last-place DePaul visits Wednesday (Fox Sports 1). Then comes a road twofer at Georgetown (Feb. 20) and at Butler (Feb. 24). The competition picks up in the final week with a visit from UConn (March 3) and a trip to St. John’s (March 6).

That’s a favorable schedule. Going 3-2 should lock up an NCAA Tournament bid. With some bracketologies showing them on the bubble, the players know what's at stake each time they take the court.  

"Without a doubt," Rhoden said. "That's something we talk about every day. It's someting we talk about when we go to eat dinner, when we're playing video games. We look at these bracketologies, we look at all that stuff. It (the NCAA Tournament) means a lot to us. It's something we've been looking forward to since we were little kids. Knowing how big this game was, knowing the opportunity we have, we had to take advantage of it."

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.