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NEW YORK — A brutal season filled with injuries, losses and off-the-court distractions has come to a merciful close for Seton Hall.
The No. 12 Pirates went down swinging, giving No. 5 Syracuse all they could handle until the Orange went on a second-half run and put the Big East Tournament game away, 75-63, at Madison Square Garden.
Beset by injuries, he Pirates (15-18) lost 12 of their final 14 games and finished 3-15 in the Big East regular season.
Still, they summoned one last fight against the Orange, taking an early lead and then keeping it close until Syracuse used an 11-2 second-half run to take control.
“Seton Hall, they’re not a great team but they played great today,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said.
Now coach Kevin Willard and the Pirates can exhale, take a vacation, get healthy and look forward to what could be a promising year in the new Big East in 2013-14.
Several players have had or or will require medical procedures, including Patrik Auda (foot), Brandon Mobley (shoulder), Aaron Cosby (knee, ankle), Brian Oliver (ankle) and Haralds Karlis (face).
“We had guys break their foot,” said Willard, who looked exhausted and frustrated for much of the season. “We had guys their their shoulder out. We had guys blow out every ankle, every ligament in their ankle when guys tear their MCL.
“I think that was maybe my frustration.”
Kyle Smyth was the only senior on the team and he closed his career by crying on Willard’s shoulder.
“I think any collegiate athlete when it comes to the end, it’s very emotional,” he said. “Ending it with the guy I started off with, that really meant a lot.”
While it remains unclear if any players will leave the program — Would it shock anyone if Kevin Johnson transferred? — the Pirates are expected to return a solid core in Fuquan Edwin, Gene Teague, Tom Maayan, Mobley, Oliver, Auda and Karlis.
They add point guard Sterling Gibbs, who will be the starting floor general after sitting out the year per NCAA transfer regulations.
And they must still decide what to do with recruit Jerron Wilbut, who was recently involved in a robbery but would’ve been a key player next year at the two guard spot.
They will likely be in the market for a couple of JUCO guards to fill the spots vacated by Aquille Carr, who has said he will play overseas, and possibly Wilbut.
But going forward, they enter a new league that won’t feature Syracuse, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati or arch-rival Rutgers and should be somewhat easier to navigate.
That league will feature the Catholic 7 and is expected to add Butler, Creighton and Xavier.
“I think that’s what everyone’s excited about,” Willard said. “It’s really not a new league. It’s kind of just like a restart. From that standpoint, being able to come back here and play in the Garden, I think it’s a great treat.”
Photo: Star-Ledger
