Seton Hall Basketball: Pirates earn weekend split at Mohegan Sun

The Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball program earned an impressive weekend split in the Naismith Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament at the Mohegan Sun Casino.

Before earning a 60-55 victory over the Rhode Island Rams Sunday, the Pirates (3-1) took the Washington Huskies (2-2) to overtime in Saturday's 84-73 loss.

The Huskies, picked to finish fifth out of 12 teams in the Pac-12's Preseason Coaches Poll, trailed by as much as 18 points early in the second half, however, the Pirates rallied with a 23-5 run to pull even, 56-56, with 10:01 remaining in the game.

Seton Hall claimed a 66-60 lead with 5:03 remaining in the game, but Washington rallied and forced regulation play to end in a 71-71 tie.

In the extra session, senior guard Scott Suggs hit a 3-pointer on the Huskies' first possession and there was no looking back.

According to the SB Nation blog South Orange Juice, the loss was disheartening, however, it did tell a lot about Kevin Willard's team.

While Seton Hall was outclassed in overtime as Washington outscored the Pirates 13-2, a Seton Hall identity was established in the second half of tonight's game at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. After making crucial halftime adjustments, Seton Hall excelled in shutting down Washington's high-octane attack in tonight's second half. The Pirates' defense resembled what they displayed against their first two opponents: lane-clogging, active defense.

Seton Hall's junior forward Fuquan Edwin tallied 18 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, unfortunately, the effort was not enough.

On Sunday, the Pirates used a collegiate-best 21 points by junior center Gene Teague to edge Rhode Island.

Again, Seton Hall trailed by double-digits but rallied. This time, the end favored the Pirates, who used a late-game layup by Edwin and a steal and a pair of free throws by freshman Tommy Maayan to steal a victory in CT.

The Pirates shot poorly from deep (4-of-15), but managed to eek out victory large in part to the force feeding of Eugene Teague (21pts/9reb), who also finished 7-of-9 from the line. If the long balls aren't falling, it's imperative Seton Hall establishes an inside presence and as we saw against Norfolk State, Gene simply wore the opponent down.

On Wednesday, Seton Hall hosts the Maine Black Bears at the prudential Center (7 p.m. ET).