The Seton Hall Pirates traveled to Providence, Rhode Island to take on the #12 ranked Providence College Friars. The Pirates ended up coming away with a huge win as they defeated Providence 81-72. Before the game we spoke with Kevin McNamara of The Providence Journal. His interview can be seen in our previous post, and we would again like to extend a big thank you to him for his great insight.
The first half was a slug fest. The two teams fought back and forth in what was a very tight first half. The Friars opened the scoring with a steal and layup from Kris Dunn. The two teams exchanged leads throughout the first half. The Pirates took a 6-4 lead on an alley oop from Desi Rodriguez. This was answered by a three pointer from Junior Lomomba to give Providence a 7-6 lead. With 6:10 remaining in the first half, Dunn made a layup to tie the game at 23. From this point on, the Pirates would lead from wire to wire. The Pirates would ultimately end the half with a 10 point lead. At the end of the first half the Pirates led 38-28.
The Friars were led in the firs half by Kris Dunn with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Junior Lomomba hit a pair of three pointers and had 6 points in the first half. Ben Bentil tied Kris Dunn for the team lead in rebounds with 4 in the first half. The Friars took a beating on the boards in the first half as they grabbed 18 rebounds to 29 for Seton Hall. The Friars shot 27% from the floor as well as 14.3% from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Pirates were led in the first half by Isaiah Whitehead with 10 points and 5 assists. Khadeen Carrington and Desi Rodriguez each scored 8 points in the first half. The Pirates were led on the glass by Angel Delgado and Ismael Sanogo. Delgado led the team with 7 rebounds while Sanogo grabbed 6. The Pirates shot 48.6% from the floor in the first half and 25% from beyond the arc.
The Pirates came out strong to start the second half. They added on their lead and increased it to as much as 13 on multiple occasions. The Friars would cut the Pirates lead to 6 at one point but would never get any closer. Every time Providence seemed to grab the momentum the Pirates would respond. A big moment in the game came with 3:02 remaining in the second half when Kris Dunn fouled out. Dunn is one of the best guards and the country and the Pirates did a fine job keeping him in check. In the end, the Pirates would come away with an 81-72 victory over the #12 ranked Providence College Friars.
The Friars were led by Ben Bentil with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Kris Dunn added 16 points and 5 rebounds for PC. Rodney Bullock chipped in 11 points and 3 blocks, and Kyron Cartwright posted 10 points and 4 assists. The Friars just could not get shots to fall tonight. Providence only shot 30.1% from the field.
The Pirates were led by Khadeen Carrington with 22 points on the night. Derrick Gordon and Isaiah Whitehead each scored 15 points for the Pirates. Gordon grabbed 7 rebounds and also provided excellent defense on Kris Dunn. Whitehead distributed 7 assists for the Hall. Desi Rodriguez also scored in double figures as he put up 10 points. Angel Delgado and Ismael Sanogo had 11 and 10 rebounds apiece, respectively. This was a big win for the Hall as they bounced back from two conference losses.
The Friars fall to 15-3 with the loss and 3-2 in Big East play. The Pirates improve to 13-4 overall and 3-2 in the Big East. The Friars will host the Butler Bulldogs on Tuesday night. The Pirates will return to the Prudential Center on Wednesday for a huge tilt against the Villanova Wildcats at 9 p.m. The Pirates will be looking to avenge a 72-63 loss from January 6.
We would again like to give a big thank you to Kevin McNamara. He is a terrific follow on twitter @KevinMcNamara33. Make sure to give him a follow! Check out the PPI below to see which Pirates players had the biggest contributions tonight. We will be live at the Villanova game on Wednesday. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.
Blue Beard Army 