Seton Hall won’t go undefeated this season.
The Pirates lost their first game of the season, falling to USC, 83-81, in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Free throws played a huge part in the game. USC shot 31-of-38 from the line to 12-of-18 for The Hall.
A 3-pointer by AJ Staton-McCray off a steal by Budd Clark tied it at 78 with 62 seconds remaining.
Stephon Payne was then called for a foul and Chad Baker-Mazara (18 points) hit two foul shots to make it 80-78.
After a timeout, the Hall turned it over on an entry pass from Clark into Payne in the post. The ball appeared to go off USC’s Terrance Williams, but the Pirates had no more challenges. Clark then fouled out.
Mike Williams III hit two free throws to cut it to 81-80 with 6.3 seconds remaining.
Jordan Marsh added two foul shots to push it to 83-80.
Elijah Fisher made 1-of-2 to make it 83-81
USC’s Ezra Ausar went for 25 points, making 15-of-19 from the line, along with 8 rebounds.
Auburn transfer Chad Baker-Mazara scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half.
Clark led The Hall with 18 points and 7 assists, Staton-McCray added 17 and Mike Williams III 13.
The Pirates will face either Arizona State or Washington State in the third-place game on Wednesday (5:30 p.m., ESPN). USC will face the winner of that game in the championship game (2:30, ESPN).
“We’re down here for business,” Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway, whose team was picked last in the Big East Conference, told reporters ahead of the game. “It’s just the first step in our journey.”
The Hall was coming off an impressive 85-74 upset of No. 23 N.C. State in Monday’s first round.
The Hall led by as many as 13 points in the first half before settling for a 42-38 halftime lead.
USC’s used a 10-0 run to go ahead 63-57 on a 3-pointer by Baker-Mazara
The Trojans had to play down the stretch without leading scorer Rodney Rice, who suffered a shoulder injury in the second half.
Clark picked up his fourth foul with 8:04 remaining.
But Clark returned and hit a driving layup to cut it to 74-70 with about four minutes remaining.
Elijah Fisher took The Hall’s first free throw of the second half with 1:54 remaining, when he made 1-of-2 to cut it 76-73 in favor of USC.
Two more free throws by Clark cut it to 78-75.
