Al-Amir Dawes scored 21 points to lead all five starters in double figures and host Seton Hall cruised past UNLV 91-68 in the NIT quarterfinals on Wednesday in South Orange, N.J.
Kadary Richmond racked up 16 points, 10 assists and five steals for the top-seeded Pirates (23-12), who will face Georgia in a semifinal game on Tuesday in Indianapolis. The championship game will be played April 4.
Seton Hall’s Dre Davis had 14 points and seven rebounds Wednesday, Dylan Addae-Wusu scored 12 points and Jaden Bediako had 11 points with four blocks.
The Pirates made 16 of 19 field-goal attempts over a 12:20 stretch spanning the halves. Seton Hall finished shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 44 percent (11 of 25) from 3-point range. The margin of victory was the Pirates’ largest in the tournament after an overtime win against Saint Joseph’s and a 14-point triumph over North Texas.
Kalib Boone scored 16 points and Justin Webster added 11 for UNLV (21-13), which had beaten No. 2 seed Princeton and Boston College to advance this far.
Seton Hall established an early 11-2 lead when Bediako breezed through the lane for a transition dunk, got fouled and sank the ensuing free throw.
Webster’s layup at the 9:35 mark brought UNLV within 19-14 while Seton Hall tried to rest some starters. The Pirates restored a 10-point lead, but Rob Whaley Jr. scored from the low block for the Rebels on back-to-back possessions to make it 24-18.
That’s when Seton Hall started to get separation. Richmond fueled a 9-2 Pirates run by scoring two baskets and assisting two others, the latter on an easy steal to get Dawes an open corner 3-pointer.
Richmond poured in the Pirates’ next seven points, and by the time Addae-Wusu picked off a UNLV pass and dunked at the first-half buzzer, Seton Hall had blown it open to a 44-26 lead.
Dawes ripped off three straight 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half to make it a 27-point game, and UNLV could only try to keep up from there.
UNLV pulled within 20 several times and got it within 71-52 on Kalib Boone’s open dunk with less than eight minutes to go. Addae-Wusu splashed a 3-pointer on Seton Hall’s next trip.
The Rebels found their shooting stroke late, with Webster and Keylan Boone making triples. Seton Hall reserves Sadraque NgaNga and Jaquan Sanders each answered with a 3-pointer.