Bluejays Bludgeon Pirates

Photo Provided Courtesy Of Madeline Wilson

The Seton Hall Pirates were back in action at the Prudential Center today to take on the Creighton Bluejays. The Pirates were looking to defend their home court where they have been unbeaten this season. The Pirates would be beaten up in this one and would fall to the Bluejays 82-67. Before the game we had the privilege of talking to Anthony Robinson. Anthony writes about Creighton basketball for The Creightonian and has a wealth of knowledge on the team. You can check out his interview with us in our previous post.

The first half was highlighted by both teams going on runs. The Pirates would get on the board first and would trade leads with Creighton throughout the first few minutes of the game. Derrick Gordon would give the Pirates a 5 point lead with 8:32 remaining in the first half. That lead was the largest lead of the day for the Pirates. With 6:16 remaining in the 1st half, Cole Huff would knock down a 3 and give the Bluejays a 1 point lead. From there, the Bluejays would pad and protect that lead. Ultimately Creighton would go to the locker room with a 41-33 lead. The Pirates had an 8-2 run answered by a lengthy Creighton run in the first half.

The Bluejays were led in the first half by a balanced attack. Maurice Watson Jr. led the Bluejays with 7 points and 8 assists. Isiah Zierden, Zach Hanson, and Khyri Thomas each scored 6 points in the first half. Cole Huff, Toby Hegner, and Zach Hanson each grabbed 3 boards for the Bluejays.

The Pirates were led by Angel Delgado in the first half. Delgado posted 8 points and 4 rebounds. Isaiah Whitehead added 8 points and 2 assists. Desi Rodriguez chipped in 6 points and 4 rebounds. Derrick Gordon also chipped in 6 points for the Hall.

We spoke with Anthony Robinson at half time to get his perspective on the game. He told us that Creighton would continue to have to be effective against Delgado down low. He also said that the Bluejays need to continue to take smart shots. Anthony was correct in his observations at halftime and before the game when he predicted a Creighton victory.

The second half was entirely controlled by Creighton. The Bluejays came out and immediately expanded their lead. A three ball from Isaiah Zierden gave the Bluejays a 13 point lead. A layup from Geoffrey Groselle gave Creighton a 20 point lead. Two minutes later Zierden hit another three ball to give Creighton a 21 point lead. This would be the largest lead of the day for the Bluejays. The Pirates would cut into the lead, but never get it down to single digits. Isaiah Whitehead, Desi Rodriguez, and Angel Delgado both were on the bench for significant portions of the half. The Pirates would ultimately fall to the Bluejays 82-67.

The Bluejays were led by Geoffrey Groselle with 20 points and 4 rebounds. Isaiah Zierden added 16 points and 4 steals. Maurice Watson Jr., the transfer from Boston University had a great game with 13 points and 14 assists. Khyri Thomas led the Bluejays with 7 rebounds, and Zach Hanson chipped in 10 points and 6 rebounds.

The Pirates were led by Khadeen Carrington with 17 points. Isaiah Whitehead added 10 points, and Ismael Sanogo led the Pirates with 9 rebounds. Derrick Gordon had the most complete game for the Pirates as he scored 14 points and added 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

The Bluejays improve to 12-5 on the season and 3-1 in Big East play. The Pirates fall to 12-4 on the season and 2-2 in Big East play. The loss today was the first for the Pirates at home this season. Creighton will head home to take on Providence on Tuesday. The Pirates will be traveling to Providence to take on the Friars on Saturday.

A big thank you goes out to our friend Anthony Robinson. You can find him on twitter @ARobinson_. He is a great follow on twitter and he definitely knows his Big East basketball. Thank you again Anthony! Check out the PPI to see which Pirates performed well today. We will have full coverage and a recap of the Providence game on Saturday, January 16. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

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Pirates Squeak Out A Win Over DePaul

Photo Provided Courtesy Of Madeline Wilson

The Seton Hall Pirates opened their home Big East slate today with a contest against the DePaul Blue Demons. We talked to Ben Gartland before the game. Gartland writes for the DePaulia and is a great journalist and a worthwhile follow on twitter @BenG_Sports. Ben gave us some great insight on the Blue Demons and his recap of the game can be seen here DePaul Recap vs Seton Hall.

The Pirates came out hot to start the game. The Pirates held a lead as large as 10 points in the first half. Desi Rodriguez was a spark plug early on. In addition to a big three pointer, he stole a pass and threw down a one handed slam. DePaul battled back and tied the game on two occasions. Turnovers and chippy play were two standouts of the first half. The refs swallowed their whistles and let the players bang around inside. Billy Garrett Jr. struggled early on in the half but was the go to guy down the stretch for DePaul. Ultimately the Pirates took a one point lead into the locker room. The Pirates led 35-34 after the first half.

The Pirates were led by Desi Rodriguez and Khadeen Carrington who each had 7 points. Angel Delgado had 6 rebounds and Isaiah Whitehead had 4 assists for the Hall. The Blue Demons of DePaul were led by Billy Garrett Jr. who posted 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Tommy Hamilton IV led the Blue Demons on the boards with 6 rebounds.

The second half was a very tightly contested affair. The Blue Demons came out strong and took the lead right off the tip with a three from Aaron Simpson. After a layup from Angel Delgado tied the game, the Blue Demons immediately retook the lead with two free throws from Billy Garrett Jr.. From there the Pirates hold the lead to the end of the game. The game was not without drama though. With less than 1 second remaining in the game, Derrick Gordon fouled Billy Garrett Jr. taking a three pointer. This sent Garrett Jr. to the line with a chance to tie the game. He would make 1 of 3 and the Pirates would escape with a 78-74 victory.

The Blue Demons were led by Billy Garrett Jr. who had 20 points and 8 assists. Myke Henry added 15 points and 9 rebounds. Rashaun Stimage chipped in 15 points and 5 rebounds, and Tommy Hamilton IV added 8 rebounds. The Pirates were led by Isaiah Whitehead with 18 points and 9 assists. Khadeen Carrington and Ismael Sanogo each had good games with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Angel Delgado posted his 7th straight double double. He had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Desi Rodriguez was benched for a good part of the game, that will be something to keep track of going forward.

With the loss the Blue Demons drop to 6-8 on the season and 0-2 in Big East play. The Pirates remain undefeated at home with the win. The Hall improves to 12-2 on the season and 2-0 in Big East play. The Blue Demons will head home to take on Butler on Tuesday. The Pirates will head to Philadelphia to take on Villanova on Wednesday.

Again a big thank you goes out to Ben Gartland for his wealth of information on DePaul basketball. Give him a follow on twitter and check out his article! Check out the PPI below to see which Pirates performed the best today. We will have full coverage of the Villanova game on Wednesday. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

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Pirates Open Up Conference Play, Dispatch Golden Eagles

Photo Provided Courtesy Of Madeline Wilson

The Seton Hall Pirates opened Big East play against the Marquette Golden Eagles. Prior to this game we had the privilege of talking to Jack Goods. Jack provided us with some great info. You can see his answers to our questions in our previous post. Jack told us some things to watch for and really helped us with our research on the Marquette Golden Eagles. Jack told us to watch for Luke Fischer and Henry Ellenson, the two big men for Marquette. He anticipated that Marquette would try and get the ball in their hands as much as possible and he was definitely right. After a tight start to the game, the Pirates came out with an 83-63 victory.

The first half was a very closely contested affair. The Pirates led for most of the half but never built a solid lead. After a pair of free throws by Desi Rodriguez, the Pirates led by 11, which was their largest lead of the first half with 14:42 to go. Haanif Cheatham and Jajuan Johnson helped Marquette cut into the lead and eventually they would take a 1 point lead into halftime. At the break the Golden Eagles led the Hall 40-39.

The Golden Eagles got a huge first half from freshman Haanif Cheatham. He led Marquette with 15 points and 2 steals. He helped cut into the lead and eventually give Marquette the lead. Henry Ellenson had a monster half on the boards as he grabbed 10 rebounds. The freshman has really been a huge player for Marquette this year. Jack Goods told us that Ellenson has generated the most noise at Marquette since Dwyane Wade. He told us that Ellenson has done it all and he is still finding his way. He will continue to get better and the rest of the Big East should be on watch. Jack proved to be quite accurate when saying Marquette should work the ball through Fischer and Ellenson. Marquette was 0-6 from 3 in the 1st half.

The Pirates were led in the first half by Desi Rodriguez with 14 points. Isaiah Whitehead added 11 points, and Khadeen Carrington chipped in 6 rebounds. Ismael Sanogo added 5 rebounds for the Hall and played stellar defense on Henry Ellenson.

The second half was all Pirates. Seton Hall wasted little time in reclaiming the lead, and then took over in the second half to dominate the Golden Eagles. With 7:39 remaining in the game, Duane Wilson hit two free throws to cut the lead to 9. From there the Pirates went on a 14-3 run to pull away for good. The Pirates played a great game despite committing 20 turnovers on the night. Ismael Sanogo and Khadeen Carrington had big dunks in the 2nd half. Isaiah Whitehead distributed the ball well, and the Pirates cruised to an 83-63 win.

The Pirates were led overall by Desi Rodriguez. The sophomore tallied 19 points and 5 rebounds. Khadeen Carrington added 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Isaiah Whitehead chipped in 16 points and 7 assists, and Angel Delgado added 11 points and 11 rebounds. As previously mentioned, Ismael Sanogo did a great job defending Henry Ellenson down low.

Marquette was led by Haanif Cheatham with 17 points. Freshman Henry Ellenson posted 13 points and 14 rebounds. He is a force to be reckoned with in the Big East. Luke Fischer added 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Marquette was ice cold in the second half as they only put up 23 points.

With the loss the Golden Eagles drop to 10-3 on the year and 0-1 in Big East play. The loss snaps the 9 game winning streak for Marquette. With the win the Pirates improve to 11-2 on the season and 1-0 in the Big East. Marquette will head to Washington D.C. to take on Georgetown on Saturday. The Pirates will head home to take on DePaul on Saturday.

Big thanks again to Jack Goods for all his help. He is a tremendous journalist and a great person to follow on twitter. He can be found at @GoodsOnSports. He also writes for the Marquette Tribune. Thank you again Jack!

Check out the PPI below to see which Pirates players shined in the Big East opener. We will have full coverage of the DePaul game on Saturday. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

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Pirates Breeze Past Bulls

Photo Provided Courtesy Of Madeline Wilson

The Seton Hall Pirates hosted the South Florida Bulls in the final game of their non-conference schedule. The Pirates easily dispatched the Bulls en route to a 66-49 win. With the win the Pirates improved to 10-2 and the Bulls fell to 3-10 on the season. We caught up with Chris Lemus before the game. Chris covers USF sports and he was kind enough to take some time to talk about the Bulls and how they would fare against the Pirates. He believed Jaleel Cousins and Jahmal McMurray with both have a big impact on the game. He also said that the Bulls needed to be disciplined to have a chance at winning this game. He was definitely right on that point.

The first half was dominated by the Pirates. The Hall scored the first 14 points of the game. Khadeen Carrington highlighted this outburst with a great individual sequence. After hitting a three pointer, he stole the ball in the back court and finished with a layup to give him five points in 15 seconds. The Bulls didn’t get on the board until there was 9:59 to go in the first half. The Bulls cut the lead down to seven, but the Pirates increased the lead to 14 to end the first half. The Pirates led 33-19 after the first half. The Pirates were led by Angel Delgado who had 8 points and 6 rebounds. USF was led by Angel Nunez with 9 points.

The second half saw more of the same from the Pirates. The Pirates never allowed the lead to be cut to single digits in the second half. Our friend Chris Lemus said that the Bulls needed to be disciplined to win this game and he was definitely right. The Bulls were not disciplined in this game. They committed 15 turnovers on the night. Chris also mentioned that the Bulls were not a very good three point shooting team. He said that at one point the Bulls were ranked 346th in the nation in three point shooting. On the game the Bulls shot just 20% from beyond the arc.

It was a very balanced attack from the Pirates. There were many contributors for Seton Hall. The Pirates led wire to wire en route to a 66-49 win. The Pirates were led by Angel Delgado who put up 14 points and 11 rebounds. Veer Singh had his best game as a Pirate with 12 points, and Isaiah Whitehead dropped 10 assists for the Hall. South Florida was led by Angel Nunez who posted 19 points and 8 rebounds. Jahmal McMurray added 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.

With the win the Pirates improve to 10-2 on the season as well as 7-0 at home. The Bulls fall to 3-10 and 0-3 on the road this year. Chris Lemus told us that he expects the Bulls to fare better in conference play. He feels that the team will get more accustomed to Orlando Antigua’s Kentucky style offense. Orlando Antigua is a disciple of John Calipari and runs a similar offense. It will be interesting to see how USF does this year in the AAC. The Bulls are currently without Roddy Peters, their big time transfer from Maryland. Chris seems to think the future is bright for USF. With the talent and continued coaching of Orlando Antigua the future appears to be bright in South Florida.

South Florida will now enter conference play in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls will host Houston on December 30 in their AAC opener. The Pirates will begin Big East Conference play on December 30 when they travel to Marquette. The Pirates took home their 5th straight win and will look to carry that momentum into conference play.

We would like to thank Chris Lemus again for his great knowledge and information on USF basketball. Chris is a great journalist and you can find him on twitter @ChrisJLemus. We will have full coverage of the Big East opener against Marquette on December 30. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

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