BY JASON GUERETTE

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Basically, to come upon the formula for Seton Hall’s 68-67 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday night in the consolation game of the Coaches vs Cancer Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, take what happened against Oklahoma on Friday night and reverse it.

This time, when faced with adversity late in the game, it was the Pirates taking the reins. Down by two with 38 seconds remaining, senior wing Fuquan Edwin drilled a huge three-pointer to put the Pirates up one. After Virginia Tech’s Jarell Eddie missed a layup on the other end, Edwin made two free throws before the Hokies threw the ensuing inbounds pass out of bounds.

Color Kevin Willard impressed.

“These guys really bounced back,” the fourth-year Pirates head coach said. “The way we lost last night was tough. But we watched film this morning on us, and said ‘Hey- we’re going to be in this situation a lot.’ We didn’t play well offensively, but we played really well defensively, and we did the things we had to do to win.”

Indeed, both the Pirates and Hokies struggled to find any sense of offensive rhythm, with Seton Hall shooting just 32 percent for the game and Virginia Tech making just over 40 percent of their shots.

But two factors made a world of difference for the Pirates in coming off their agonizing loss the evening before against Oklahoma.

The first was the boost the Pirates got from their bench. Seton Hall fell behind 11-2 in the first two minutes and change, prompting a timeout by Willard. After the two teams kept trading points, the Hokies led 26-17 with nine minutes remaining in the half. Freshman guard Jaren Sina then hit three three-pointers in consecutive possessions to tie the game at 26.

Brian Oliver (six points on two three-pointers) and Tom Maayan (four points, three assists) also came off the bench to post solid numbers in the first stanza, something of which their head coach took notice.

“I thought Tommy, Brian and Jaren really were difference-makers,” Willard said. “The first group played hard, but they just looked a little spent, and I thought the way the three of them came in gave us a huge boost.”

Overall, the Pirates shot 47 percent from deep in the first half despite shooting 38% from the field overall, led by Sina’s team-leading 13 points.

“I thought Jaren made some big shots for us,” Willard added. “I think he’s starting to feel a little comfortable out there (on the court).”

The other major factor was Edwin down the stretch. After the captain struggled the night before, most notably missing a layup with lots of time on the shot clock that gave the Sooners momentum, the Paterson native scored seven of his team-high 18 points in the last 30 seconds.

It represented a moment of redemption of sorts for Edwin, who said that the shot the night before weighed on his mind.

“It was killing me,” Edwin said. “I really couldn’t sleep because I knew I should have been smarter in that situation. I think I beat myself up, but I just wanted to stay calm and focus on the next game, and that’s what I did.”

Two long, desperation three-pointers from the Hokies’ Ben Emelogu made the final margin just one point. Emelogu finished with 18 points off the Virginia Tech bench, while Eddie led the way with a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds.

But it was not enough to beat Seton Hall, which despite the low shooting percentage from the field made 18-25 shots at the free throw line and turned the ball over just seven times (a season-low) to earn the win, and a third-place finish in the Coaches vs Cancer Classic.

The Pirates also got a double-double from Eugene Teague in the contest, complete with 10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.

Edwin, meanwhile, added six rebounds and three steals to his point totals. The three thefts put him in sole possession of third place on the Hall’s all-time steals list with 232 for his career, passing current Pirates associate head coach Shaheen Holloway.

In addition, Maayan added a career-best eight points along with five assists, while Oliver ended up with 11 points and six rebounds for the Hall, which moves to 4-2 on the year with the win.

The Pirates will now have a full week off between games, as they are next in action against Fairleigh Dickinson back on their home floor next Sunday afternoon. Tip-off at Prudential Center in Newark is set for 2 p.m.