Chaunce Jenkins scored all of his season-high 22 points after halftime and hit the tiebreaking basket with 2:21 remaining in overtime as Seton Hall outlasted VCU for a 69-66 victory Thursday in the opening round of the Charleston Classic in South Carolina.
In a game with 14 lead changes and nine ties where both teams struggled to score, Jenkins was the best player on the floor after dealing with foul trouble in the first half.
The Old Dominion transfer made 6 of 12 shots despite going 0-for-2 before halftime. He snapped a 63-63 tie with a fadeaway over Phillip Russell from the left side off an inbounds play with 2:21 left.
After VCU’s Max Shulga split two free throws with 2:08 left, David Tubek sank a 3-pointer from the right side over Jack Clark for a 68-64 lead with 35 seconds left before the Pirates sweated out the final seconds.
Shulga hit a jumper with 13 seconds left to make it a two-point game and Jenkins split two at the line with 10 seconds left. The game ended when Joe Bamisile missed a 3 from the right side with five seconds left as Jenkins went over to contest.
Jenkins also helped the Pirates (3-2) overcome an eight-point deficit in the final 11 minutes of regulation and hit a layup for a 61-59 lead with 15 seconds left but Shulga went by a double-team for a tying layup with two seconds left.
Isaiah Coleman added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates, who shot 41.8 percent. Tubek hit all three of his 3-point tries to finish with nine points as the Pirates went 7-of-12 from deep.
Shulga scored 20 points to lead VCU (4-1). Zeb Jackson added 15 in his season debut after recovering from a broken hand, and Bamisile contributed 13 as the Rams shot 36.7 percent overall and 9-of-37 from 3-point range.
Coleman’s cutting layup with 6:10 left forged a 50-50 deadlock and Tubek hit a 3 from the left side for a 53-52 lead with 5:20 to go. Bamisile put VCU up 57-53 with 3:55 left when he sank a triple over Coleman before the frenetic final seconds.
Next up for Seton Hall is a Friday semifinal game against Vanderbilt, which edged Nevada 73-71 later Thursday night. The Rams will oppose the Wolf Pack in the consolation bracket.
–Field Level Media
