Seton Hall’s Chaunce Jenkins scored 15 points and the Pirates survived a late threat to hold off Florida Atlantic for a 63-61 victory in the Charleston Classic’s third-place game Sunday night in South Carolina.
Scotty Middleton added 10 points for Seton Hall (4-3), which won despite shooting only 40.4 percent from the field.
Florida Atlantic’s Leland Walker had 16 points, but he missed a potential winning 3-pointer on the game’s last shot. Matas Vokietaitis contributed 10 points and nine rebounds for the Owls (4-4).
Seton Hall was up by 15 points early in the second half and held a 54-40 advantage with about eight minutes to play.
With back-to-back baskets from Vokietaitis to cap an 8-0 spurt, Florida Atlantic trimmed its hole to six by the game’s six-minute mark.
Isaiah Coleman had four points during a late-game stretch to help the Pirates fend off Florida Atlantic rallies. But Walker’s basket drew the Owls to within 60-57 before Yacine Toumi’s tip-in gave Seton Hall a two-possession lead again.
A 3-pointer for KyKy Tandy with 25 seconds left pulled Florida Atlantic to within 62-61. Seton Hall’s Prince Aligbe made one of two free-throw attempts before Walker misfired and ended up 0-for-5 on 3s.
The third-place spot marked Seton Hall’s best finish in a multi-team event in six years. This was the third year that the Pirates played in the Charleston Classic and they’ve posted a 2-1 record in the tournament each time.
Middleton shot 4-for-4 from the field with two 3-pointers.
Florida Atlantic was 4-for-28 on 3s, with Tandy and Max Langenfeld both draining two, while the rest of the team was 0-for-15 from deep.
Seton Hall held a 34-22 halftime edge.
The Pirates had their first double-digit lead when Middleton made a move in the lane for a layup that made it 20-10 less than 11 minutes into the game.
Seton Hall did the job defensively holding the Owls without a point during a five-minute stretch in the first half.
This was the first meeting between the teams.
–Field Level Media
