Seton Hall basketball, without Kadary Richmond, falls to Providence

NEWARK – The bad news came Wednesday afternoon, during Seton Hall basketball's shootaround prior to its game against Providence.

Kadary Richmond, the program's star point guard and leading Big East Player of the Year candidate, told head coach Shaheen Holloway he couldn’t go after practicing Monday and Tuesday.

Playing with one hand tied behind their back, the Pirates scrapped and built a 10-point second-half lead but wore down and fell 67-63 before a quiet crowd of 7,500 at the Prudential Center.

"He’s got some soreness going on with his body," Holloway said of Richmond, declining to specify where. "I found out he wasn’t going to play at the shootaround. I don’t know the timetable (for a return). I don’t know too much; he’s got some soreness going on.”

The Hall (13-7 overall, 6-3 Big East) had to lean heavily on postgrad guard Al-Amir Dawes, who scored a career-high 26 points and did the majority of the ball handling – fighting through a painful mid-game knee-knock that briefly sent him to the locker room.

“(Richmond's) a good basketball player so we obviously need him, but we have a talented group of guys; they’ve got the ability to withstand it," Dawes said. "We didn’t step through. We’ve got stuff to work on. Got to get back to the drawing board and get better from this. Definitely a lesson for us and for me.”

Providence (13-6, 4-4) is no stranger to crucial injuries. The Friars lost star forward Bryce Hopkins (15.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg) to an ACL tear during the first meeting with these clubs, a 61-57 Hall win in Rhode Island Jan. 3.

Not having Richmond, who didn’t finish last season due to a back injury and appeared to hurt his back in last week’s win over St. John’s, is a nightmare scenario for the Hall. But it’s also worth noting that if his injury is temporary, the NCAA Tournament's Selection Committee will take that into consideration if the Pirates do wind up on the bubble.

Asked a second time for a prognosis on when Richmond might return, Holloway seemed exasperated.

“How many times did y’all ask the same question, fellas? I don’t know!" he said. "When I find out, I’ll let you guys know. You ask the same question five different ways. I don't know, big dog."

In fairness to the reporters in the room, it's an important question.

"I know he’s got some soreness; it had to be really sore that he couldn’t go," Holloway said. "I’m sure he’ll get evaluated tomorrow and try to figure it out.”

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Dawes needed help

Given Richmond’s injury history, Holloway since preseason had prepared Dawes to run the point for extended periods. That paid off. Sliding into that role on practically no notice, the Newark native held up his end of the bargain.

“It's more facilitating, making sure guys are in the right spots," he said of the shift in responsibilities. "It’s another step up, being a leader.”

Dawes also acknowledged that seven assists from the entire team is not enough.

“Just playmaking a little bit more – that’s got to happen in my game," he said.

In the end, Dawes couldn’t do it alone. Senior guard Dylan Addae-Wusu had a brutal time on the offensive end, shooting 0-for-13. Senior wing Dre Davis shot just 4-for-11. Providence's defense certainly deserves credit, but the lack of an effective secondary playmaker ultimately doomed the Hall.

"(Dylan) played hard as heck, he had 10 rebounds, but I need him to score the basketball," Holloway said. "He’s 0-for-13 and Dre’s 4-for-11, that’s two of our top guys that we need to score, right? And even with all that being said, we were up 10. I don’t know, we just got out of sync quick and we stopped running offense, trying to go one-on-one against a good defensive team, and that didn’t work.”

Providence did a good job of keeping Davis out of the isos he prefers on the block, and Richmond's ability to draw a crowd and free up teammates was especially missed down the stretch.

“Al’s a basketball player -- he played point guard in high school, he’s been a playmaker for us," Holloway said. "I thought he did a solid job, I thought he got a little tired down the stretch, but when you’ve got guys like (Devin) Carter and (Jayden) Pierre guarding you the whole game, they’re two good physical defenders, I thought they wore him down a little bit.”

2. Coleman’s moment

Freshman Isaiah Coleman made his first career start and responded well. The wing posted 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting and added 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He played tough defense and handled the rock serviceably when called upon.

“That’s just him getting his feet wet," Dawe said. "He definitely can do a lot more and well. Super proud of him, stepping up when name is called. He’s got a lot of potential and he’s got more to come.”

Coleman's performance could pay off moving forward. He leveled up in a big spot and banked some equity with Holloway tonight. That's a key development.

“I thought he was solid," Holloway said. "I thought he came in and found out this afternoon, took the challenge and I thought he played well. Obviously when you lose the game, it’s kind of hard to sit back and say who played well. We didn’t get the job done, and I’ve got two days to try to figure out what we’re going to do against a good Marquette team.”

3. Bench couldn't hold the fort

With a key player down, Holloway had to go deep into his bench – not this team’s strong suit. He used nine guys, and while the subs held the fort in the first half, they got outmuscled by the Friars in the second.

"We ran our offense and got the lead up in the second half, and I tried to get some main guys some rest and Providence made a couple threes, and then we came back in and we weren’t in sync at all," Holloway said. "And I think that was the difference.”

4. Crowd a disappointment

The late-arriving crowd offered no energy, with the exception of one standing ovation when Seton Hall went up nine midway through the second half. As Providence responded with a run, it sounded like a church.

That's a surprising home environment for a squad that sat in second place in the Big East and was playing hard despite losing Richmond. It's difficult to picture that kind of apathy at any other venue in the league outside of pathetic DePaul and Georgetown.

Crowds matter in college basketball. They can sway outcomes. Seton Hall's fans rocked the building as their Pirates rallied past UConn and Marquette, stomped St. John's and went toe-to-toe with Creighton. They let the Pirates down in this one.

5. Road trip next

One of the toughest games in the schedule is next – a trip to 14th-ranked Marquette Saturday (noon, Fox Sports 1) followed by a must-win at hapless DePaul Jan. 30. Richmond or no Richmond, the Pirates must gain a split.

Holloway did not sound optimistic that Richmond will suit up Saturday, but at least he'll have time to scheme around it.

"If I would have known he wasn’t going to play a couple days ago, I probably could have had some stuff going on in practice and made some other guys (fill in)," he said. "But when you find out at 2:30-3:00, it’s kind of hard to adjust your game plan for stuff like that."

He added, "I’ve got two days to try to figure out what we’re going to do against a good Marquette team.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at  jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball, without Kadary Richmond, falls to Providence