Box Score (.pdf)

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Seton Hall men's basketball team battled back from a 14 point deficit in the second half, but fell short against Pittsburgh, 71-68.  Junior Jamar Nutter's (Bloomfield, N.J.) desperation half court shot hit the back of the rim as time expired. The Pirates dropped to 12-14 overall and 3-10 in the BIG EAST.

Seton Hall took advantage of the Panthers (24-4; 11-2 BE) missing seven of their first eight shots to take a 9-2 lead. Pittsburgh found their rhythm after the first media timeout to tie the game at 18. During that stretch the Panthers connected on 7-of-10 shots, while Seton Hall only scored one basket.

With the score still tied at 23-23, Pittsburgh went on a 7-0 run. Freshman Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) connected on a half-court shot at the horn to make it, 30-26, at the break.

Harvey took over in the second half, scoring 19 of his game-high 24 points. The BIG EAST Rookie of the Year candidate drove to the lane and hit 4-of-4 from the foul line to keep the Pirates close.  For the game, Harvey was a perfect 11-for-11 from the line.

The Panthers extended their lead back to seven, after Levon Kendall drained a jumper as the shot clock expired with 7:42 left. Levance Fields drilled a three and a jumper on back-to-back possessions to give the Panthers their biggest lead, 59-45.

Harvey answered by netting five straight, and the lead was down to nine with 4:49 remaining. Seton Hall continued to hit their free-throws to stay in the game, and sophomore Paul Gause (Pittsgrove, N.J.) pulled down an offensive rebound and scored on a putback to cut the lead to, 64-61, with 1:17 to go.

The Panthers missed three foul shots down the stretch to keep Seton Hall's hopes alive and Nutter made it a one possession game with a long three from the wing, with six seconds remaining.  The Pirates quickly fouled and Fields missed the second free-throw, setting up Nutter's prayer.

Junior Brian Laing (Bronx, N.Y.) netted 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Nutter finished up with 19 points.

Pittsburgh shot 55 percent from the field for the game.  Kendall scored 14 points, on 6-of-8 shooting, and pulled down eight boards.

The Pirates host South Florida on Senior Day at Continental Airlines Arena on Saturday, Feb. 24.  Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.