Gene Teague scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Seton Hall overcame an early 13-point deficit to beat Rhode Island 60-55 Sunday in the consolation game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament.
The Pirates (3-1) trailed for almost the entire game, taking their first lead on a driving layup by Fuquon Edwin with 37 seconds left. They held Rhode Island to just one field goal and five points over the last 10:30 of the game.
Edwin, who had 27 in a loss to Washington Saturday, scored nine of his 12 points in the second half.
Rhode Island guard Mike Powell hit five of his six shots from 3-point range and led the Rams (0-4) with 19 points. Andre Malone added 12.
Seton Hall trailed by nine at halftime and eight with just 6:11 to play.
The Pirates began their final push when Aaron Cosby hit a 3-pointer to make it 54-49 with just over 3 minutes left.
The Rams, using most of the shot clock on most possessions, were called for one of several shot-clock violations on their next possession.
Teague's free throws made it a one possession game with 1:58 left.
A 3-pointer by Smyth cut the lead to 54-53 after a Powell free throw.
Another shot-clock violation gave the Pirates the ball back and Edwin's layup gave the Pirates their lead.
Tom Maayan hit a pair of free throws to make the advantage three, and Edwin hit two more after an off-balance 3-pointer by Rhode Island's Xavier Munford missed the mark.
Rhode Island jumped out quickly, opening the game on a 7-2 run. Powell's fourth 3-pointer made it 27-14, and the Rams led 32-23 at halftime. The Rams were 5 of 9 from behind the arc in the opening half, but finished 8 of 20.
Teague had 12 of his points in the first half to help keep the Pirates within striking distance.
Rhode Island, which came into the game off losses to Norfolk State and Virginia Tech, is rebuilding after a 7-24 season.
Hurley, a former Seton Hall guard, has just eight eligible scholarship players. Three others are transfers sitting out this season.
Seton Hall has now won seven of its eight games against Rhode Island.
The game was played at the Mohegan Sun arena, a short drive north on Interstate 95 from New Jersey and a shorter drive south from Rhode Island. But very few fans decided to make the trip, leaving the 10,000-seat arena mostly empty for the tournament's consolation game.
