NEWARK, N.J. - Senior Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) connected from 35-feet as time expired to lift the Seton Hall men's basketball team to a 53-51 victory over St. Peter's in its season opener at Prudential Center. Harvey finished with a team-high 16 points and added six rebounds.

The Peacocks (0-1) held a 47-45 lead with 1:57 left in regulation after a pair of free-throws by Nick Leon. Junior Robert Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) converted on a second-chance put-back to put the Pirates on top, 48-47, with 46 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, Leon found Ryan Bacon under the goal for an easy bucket to swing the pendulum back in favor of St. Peter's with 24 ticks on the clock. On the ensuing possession sophomore Herb Pope (Aliquippa, Pa.) found Mitchell down low with a nifty wrap-around pass to put SHU on top, 50-49, with just 13 seconds to go.

The Peacocks' Wesley Jenkins answered right back with a pull-up jumper from the left elbow with just 3.6 seconds remaining, forcing a Pirate timeout. Senior John Garcia (Brentwood, N.Y.) inbounded the ball under the St. Peter's basket to Pope down the leftside of the backcourt. Pope lobbed the ball to Harvey, who was streaking past the half-court line and heaved up his game-winning trey.

After a back-and-forth start, SHU began to pull away after a three-pointer from Jamel Jackson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and a score from Harvey gave the Pirates a 17-11 cushion with 7:57 left in the first half.

The Peacocks would the hold the Pirates scoreless over the next 6:21, and took a six-point lead. Freshman Jordan Theodore (Englewood, N.J.) ended the drought with a jumper, but Seton Hall still trailed, 27-22, heading into the break.

The Pirates used a 13-0 run midway through the second half to erase an eight-point deficit, and turn it into a 36-31 advantage at the 10:20 mark of the second half. Bacon pulled the Peacocks within a point with 8:53 on the clock, but Jeremy Hazell (Harlem, N.Y.) converted on 1-of-2 attempts from the charity stripe to build the lead back up to 43-39 with 5:54 to go.

Bacon capped a 6-0 spurt by St. Peter's with a lay-in to give the lead back to the Peacocks, 45-43, with 4:52. With 3:24 left, Harvey drove to the bucket for a layup to tie the score, setting up the dramatic finish.

Garcia finished with nine points, 10 boards, and three blocks in 29 minutes. Pope played a strong all-around game in his SHU debut, netting six points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four blocks.

Jenkins led St. Peter's with 16 points. The Peacocks held a 43-35 edge on the glass, but the Pirates outscored St. Peter's, 21-0.

The Pirates return to action on Sunday, November 15, at Monmouth. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.