Seton Hall Athletics
With Rutgers coming on Saturday for men’s basketball team, Mount Saint Mary’s on Tuesday night, three days after a hard-fought win over George Washington, seemed like a trap game.
But the Pirates shot well enough, 64-percent actually, to keep that thought well out of the question, beating the Mountaineers 78-55.
Khadeen Carrington led all scorers with 16 points, adding four rebounds and three assists. An emphatic dunk with 4:36 left in the first half nearly blew the roof off of the Prudential Center.
“That’s where Khadeen is progressing to as a player,” head coach Kevin Willard said after the win. “He’s a special offensive player that’s putting up good numbers.
One thing Carrington adds to this team is depth in the backcourt coming off of the bench. Willard commented on the importance of having that weapon.
“It helps when you’re not worried about foul trouble,” Willard said.
The scoring did not stop there for the Pirates, as they had four players in double figures. Junior Sterling Gibbs added 11 points and freshmen Angel Delgado and Isaiah Whitehead added 13 and 12 respectively.
As mentioned the Pirates turn towards Rutgers and the newly named Garden State Hardwood Classic. For Willard, his job now turns towards keeping the hype low-key for his young team. He does not feel that will be a problem, however.
“The returning guys have all played in this game and the young guys have all played in big games,” Willard said. “We’re going to treat it like every other game.”
Willard added postgame that he “has a lot of confidence” in his guys and knowing the game plan.
Now sitting at 6-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 season, and after receiving five votes to be in the Associated Press Top-25 poll this week, the Pirates, especially the younger guys, might need to be grounded a bit.
“I’ll ground them tomorrow in practice, they’re going to know what it’s like to be grounded,” Willard said.
Tip-off is slated for noon on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Prudential Center.
David Heim can be reached at david.heim@student.shu.edu or on twitter @davidheim12.
