Seton Hall Athletics
Playing in the semi-finals of Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands, Seton Hall (3-0) trounced Gardner-Webb on Sunday by a score of 85-67.
The Hall, going with the same starting lineup from their previous two games, opened with Sterling Gibbs, Jaren Sina, Isaiah Whitehead, Angel Delgado and Brandon Mobley on the floor.
Early on Gardner-Webb led 3-2. It would be their last lead of the night.
The Pirates opened the game up with a 12-3 run and never looked back. While the Runin’ Bulldogs made it close at times, they were never able to gain on the blue and white.
At the half the Pirates led 39-26.
Midway through the second half a jam from Desi Rodriguez would give the Hall an 18-point lead. From there, Gardner-Webb would start to chip away, eventually cutting the lead down to eight. Just when things started to get close, Seton Hall broke away. With less than four minutes to go, they would lead by 23 points.
Mobley had four blocks, but got himself his fourth foul early on in the second half.
Gibbs led all scorers with 16 points, going 5-for-9 from the field with five assists. Rodriguez was right behind Gibbs, putting up 15 points on the evening, while grabbing nine off the glass. Delgado netted himself a double-double in the win, accumulating 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sina was nearly automatic from downtown, going 4-6 from behind the three-point line. He ended up with 14 points.
Despite going 3-12 shooting, Whitehead made an impact as a facilitator, dishing out a game-high six assists.
With the win Seton Hall will take on either Old Dominion or Illinois State, whose semi-final game is in progress at the time of this article’s publication. Monday night will determine the winner of Paradise Jam. The championship game is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports.
Gary Phillips can be reached at gary.phillips@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @GPhillips2727.
