Seton Hall Loses Star Myles Powell To 'Serious' Ankle Sprain

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) — Seton Hall welcomed back its coach, but lost Myles Powell for the foreseeable future after he sprained his ankle.

The 12th-ranked Pirates withstood the injury to Powell and beat Stony Brook 74-57 in a game that marked the return of coach Kevin Willard.

Powell, the Big East preseason player of the year and an Associated Press preseason All-America selection, sprained his left ankle five minutes into the game and didn't return. Afterward, Willard said Powell was undergoing X-rays on a "serious" ankle sprained that "might be a prolonged absence."

"I thought we did OK at first, and then when the news trickle down the bench that he wasn't coming back I just think everyone kind of understood if as tough as he is if he's not coming back, he had to be hurt and I think that kind of shook us a little bit," Willard said. "And in the second half I think everyone kind of understood what they needed to do and did what they needed to do."

Seton Hall guard Quincy McKnight added 14 points.

"It affected us a lot," McKnight said of Powell's injury. "All-American, Big East Preaseason Player of the year, guy who scores 25-plus points for us, yeah, it's hard when he goes down that early and it's only the second game of the season. Nobody thought that would happen, so that happened and it kind of took the energy out of our team.It just took us out of our whole rhythm."

Seton Hall (2-0) announced Oct. 29 that the NCAA is investigating the program and Willard would be sitting out two games. The school said it was cooperating but didn't specify what the NCAA was investigating.

Willard sat out one exhibition game as well as a season-opening 105-71 victory over Wagner.

BIG PICTURE:

Things start to ramp up for a season of expectations for the Pirates as they face No. 1 Michigan State on Thursday. While Michigan State will no longer be ranked No. 1 after a season-opening loss to No. 2 Kentucky, both teams should be ranked in the top 15. That game will feature a couple of AP preseason All-America guards facing off if Powell's ankle allows him to play and match up with Michigan State's Cassius Winston.

Stony Brook hosts Farmingdale State on Monday.

(© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)