Seton Hall can't hold off Green, Oral Roberts- The Star Ledger (12/29/06)

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Seton Hall can't hold off Green, Oral Roberts

Friday, December 29, 2006

DARNELL DICKSON

For the Star-Ledger

PROVO, Utah -- After rallying from 12 points down to take an eight-point lead, Seton Hall looked to have its opening game in the BYU Holiday Classic well in hand.

But Caleb Green hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to lead Oral Roberts to a 76-74 victory over Seton Hall last night. "When the game was in the balance, we just couldn't score," Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. "The whistle turned on us and Green was murder."

The 6-8, 255-pound Green, who scored a game-high 30, dominated inside and made 12 of 22 from the free-throw line. It didn't help Seton Hall that its biggest player, 6-10 Grant Billmeier, was limited to 13 minutes and one point before fouling out with 14:18 to play in the second half. Seton Hall lost three players to disqualification and was hit with three technical fouls.

"Green is an unbelievable player," Gonzalez said. "But our two bigs had fouled out and we had a hard time getting stops. We had five guards out there at the end."

Seton Hall (7-3) led 72-64 on a Mani Messy fast-break dunk with less than 4 minutes to play. But Oral Roberts got a 3-point play from Green to close to 72-71 with 2:21 remaining. Green tied the game with 55.5 seconds to go on a free throw and Jamar Nutter missed a runner for Seton Hall with 32 seconds to play. Oral Roberts played for the last shot.

Seton Hall knocked the ball out of bounds with 3.2 seconds left and Yemi Ogunoye inbounded to Green, who was fouled by Nutter. Green drained both free throws and Nutter's desperation heave from half court didn't draw iron.

"It's hard to believe we won the game missing 16 free throws," Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton said. "Seton Hall is a good team. They put so much pressure on you, but we found a way to win."

Eugene Harvey's steal and layup gave Seton Hall an 8-6 lead but Oral Roberts went on a 15-2 run, fueled by the inside tandem of 6-10 Shawn King and Green. A 3-pointer from Ken Tutt gave Oral Roberts a 21-10 lead with 11:25 to play in the half.

Oral Roberts took a 31-19 lead on a Green layup with 5:51 to go. A 3-pointer by Nutter with just under 40 seconds left before intermission cut the Pirates' deficit to two (38-36). Nutter scored 11 points in the final five minutes of the half.