Down to just eight scholarship players, Seton Hall dropped its ninth straight game on Saturday.
Playing without four key players due to injuries, the Pirates hung tough before losing to Georgetown, 60-46, at Capitol One Arena.
The Hall (6-18, 1-12 Big East) has dropped nine straight. The Hall had won seven of their previous eight against the Hoyas (15-9, 6-7).
The Pirates were without three of their top five scorers in Chaunce Jenkins (knee), Dylan Addae-Wusu (ankle) and Scotty Middleton (ankle) as well as big man Manny Okorafor (ankle).
“I thought we played hard, I think we just ran out of gas,” Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway said on the radio. “Super proud of these guys. Obviously, I’m not a moral victory guy, but I thought today we did some really good things. It was good to see guys battling.”
Isaiah Coleman went for 21 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Freshman center Godswill Erheriene scored a career-high 8 points with 7 rebounds.
Micah Peavy led the Hoyas with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while Trenton, N.J. native Thomas Sorber, the frontrunner for Big East Freshman of the Year, posted 13 points and 11 boards with nearly 20 NBA scouts -- including those from the Knicks and Nets -- in attendance. His eighth double-double of the season leads all freshmen nationally.
“Thomas gets better and better every single game,” Hoyas coach Ed Cooley said on FS1. “He’s a pleasure to coach.”
The Hall led by 6 points in the first half, but Georgetown closed the first half on a 25-11 spurt to take the half 34-26.
Coleman cut it to 48-45 with a driving layup with 5:22 remaining.
But Georgetown pushed it to rattled off a 13-1 run to go ahead 58-46 a foul shot by Sorber.
Cooley said guard Jayden Epps, who averages 12.3 points, was at 60% with an undisclosed injury and was unable to play the final minutes of the game.
“I’m just happy where the program is moving forward,” Cooley said. “Inch by inch, day by day, I feel it’s getting better, but as long as we defend we’re going to have an opportunity to have success.”
The Pirates’ only league win came Jan. 8 in overtime against DePaul. Before that, their last win came Dec. 4 against NJIT.
The Pirates now have a bye for the week before hosting Dan Hurley and two-time national champion next Saturday at Prudential Center. UConn will first travel to Creighton on Tuesday.
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter and Basketball Insider for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.