SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO – Seton Hall erased another halftime deficit to edge Virginia Tech, 77-73, and finish the 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off as the tournament’s third place team.  The Pirates went 2-1 in Puerto Rico.

Sophomore Jeremy Hazell (Harlem, N.Y.) led the Pirates (4-1) in scoring for a fifth straight game with 23 points.  The 6-foot-5 guard was 9-for-11 from the free-throw line.  Junior Robert Mitchell (Bronx, N.Y.), playing in his first game of the tournament, scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.  Senior Paul Gause (Pittsgrove, N.J.) turned in his best effort of the young season.  Gause scored a season-high 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and had three crucial steals.

Mitchell started the game’s scoring with a short put-back, but Virginia Tech (3-2) then reeled off nine consecutive points to give them the early 9-2 lead.

Down 14-4, Hazell hit a three-pointer to bring the Pirates to within seven at 22-15 with 10:20 remaining in the first half.  But Virginia Tech would answer with a 7-0 run to give them what would be their largest lead of the game, 14 points, at 29-15 with 8:00 to go in the half.

Without a major run, Seton Hall slowly chipped away at the deficit to trail by only six at the half, 40-34.

Early in the second half, Hazell hit a three-pointer and the Hokies were called for goal-tending on a Mike Davis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) lay-up for a quick 5-0 run, which pulled the Pirates to within one, 45-44.  On Seton Hall’s next possession, a Hazell free throw tied the game at 45.  The Hall took their first lead since 2-0 with a driving lay-up by Mitchell to make it 47-45.  In totality, the Pirates put together a 14-1 run lasting 7:39 to give them a 52-46 lead with 11:51 remaining in regulation.

With 9:04 remaining, senior John Garcia (Brentwood, N.Y.) picked up his fourth foul and Seton Hall was forced to sub him out.

Virginia Tech went on an 8-0 run capped by a Malcolm Delaney jumper to retake the lead, 57-56, with 8:47 left in regulation.  Seton Hall struck back with a Davis free throw and a steal and uncontested lay-up by Paul Gause (Pittsgrove, N.J.) to give them a two-point lead that they would never relinquish, 59-57, with 8:04 left.

Gause scored 10 of his 14 points in the final 8:04. 

Malcolm Delaney led all-scorers with 25 points for the Hokies.  Jeff Allen had 17 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

Virginia Tech made 10-of-12 free throws in the first half, but only 9-of-20 in the second half.  Seton Hall, meanwhile, made was only 2-for-11 from three-point range, but made up for it with a strong game in the paint.

Seton Hall out-shot the Hokies, 45.6%-to-40.4%, but were out-rebounded, 43-to-34.  The Pirates forced more turnovers, 14-to-9.

The Pirates’ dramatic comeback was the second in four days.  On Thursday, the Hall rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat #19 USC, 63-61.

Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, November 29 when they return home to Prudential Center to host Delaware.  Game time is scheduled for noon.