Derrick Gordon

Photo Provided Courtesy Of Madeline Wilson

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.

Photo Provided Courtesy Of Madeline Wilson

The Seton Hall Pirates were back in action on Wednesday as they traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Wildcats of Villanova. We were lucky enough to talk to Larry Flynn who is a junior at Villanova and writes for their newspaper, The Villanovan. He was kind enough to give us some insight on the Wildcats and offered his thoughts on the game. You can read the preview in our previous post. You can follow Larry on twitter @LFlynn_NBANOVA. Though the Pirates fought hard throughout this game, the Wildcats came away with the win 72-63.

The first half was a very defensive affair. The Pirates and Wildcats were both off on the offensive end. The game was very close until Kris Jenkins hit a three pointer with 6:38 left in the first half. From there the Wildcats would increase their lead to as much as 11 in the first half. Kris Jenkins was the player that Larry Flynn told us to watch for in this one. Overall, both teams were sloppy on the offensive end in the first half. The two teams combined to commit 16 turnovers in the first half. At the end of the first half the Wildcats were on top 30-23. The 23 points were the lowest first half score of the season for the Pirates.

The Wildcats were led by Daniel Ochefu with 9 points and 8 rebounds. Kris Jenkins added 6 points and Josh Hart added 5 rebounds. The Pirates were led by Derrick Gordon with 4 points and 3 rebounds as well as 2 assists. Isaiah Whitehead chipped in 5 points in the half for the Hall.

The second half was when both teams finally got going offensively. The Wildcats came out hot and scored the first 6 points of the half to push the lead to 13. Daniel Ochefu, Josh Hart, and Ryan Arcidiacono each had a bucket in that early spurt. The headline of the second half was so close, yet so far away. The Pirates cut the lead down on numerous occasions but would never take the lead in the second half. The best chance came around the 11:45 mark of the second half. A three pointer from Veer Singh brought the Pirates to within 2 points. Villanova responded and increased the lead to 7 before the Pirates would cut it to 3. Isaiah Whitehead and Khadeen Carrington were the catalysts.

The inside play of Daniel Ochefu proved to be too much for the Pirates. Down the stretch the Wildcats would open up the lead to as much as 15, ultimately winning by a 9 point margin. Daniel Ochefu was a big mismatch for Angel Delgado all night long. The Pirates gave up many second chance points and it came back to bite them. The Wildcats came out of this one with a 72-63 win over the Pirates.

Daniel Ochefu led the Wildcats in the win tonight. The senior had a huge game with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Josh Hart had a great game as well with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Larry Flynn told us that Hart was the most complete player on this Villanova team. Kris Jenkins posted 11 points and 6 boards. Ryan Arcidiacono chipped in 11 points for the Wildcats.

The Pirates were led by Derrick Gordon who played his most complete game of the season. The transfer from UMASS posted 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists. Isaiah Whitehead would score 20 in a losing effort for the Pirates. Khadeen Carrington added 14 points and 4 rebounds. Angel Delgado chipped in 6 boards, his double double streak is over after tonight.

With the victory the Wildcats improve to 13-2 on the season and 3-0 in Big East play. The Wildcats now sit alone atop the conference. With the defeat the Pirates drop to 12-3 on the season and 2-1 in Big East play. The Wildcats will head to Indianapolis on Sunday to take on the Butler Bulldogs. The Pirates will head home to take on Creighton on Saturday at the Prudential Center.

We would like to give a big thank you to Larry Flynn for his insight on Villanova basketball. He is a great journalist and is well worth a follow on twitter. Go and check out his stuff! Check out the PPI below to see which players excelled in this loss to Villanova.

We will have a full recap and coverage of the game on Saturday against Creighton. Until then, Hazard Zet Forward.

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