Following three straight losses, the men’s basketball team looked to get back on track with a win at Walsh Gymnasium, where it hosted the Lincoln Lions on Wednesday.
Lincoln jumped out to a 6-4 advantage with three dunks down low, which forced Coach Holloway to regroup. Al-Amir Dawes gave the pirates their first lead after knocking down a wide open three-pointer, bringing the score to 9-8 with 14:51 remaining. 9 lead changes occurred from that point, and Seton Hall was finally able to build a lead with under 2 minutes. The Pirates went into the break with a 34-29 lead.
Tyrese Samuel secured a double-double in the first half with 10 points and 10 rebounds, followed by 8 points from KC Ndefo. Dawes added 7 points. Both sides were efficient from the field, with the Pirates shooting 50% to the Lions’ 41%. 22 total turnovers were committed in the first half.
Seton Hall opened the half with a 7-0 burst led by 4 points from Femi Odukale to extend the lead to double digits. Lincoln kept themselves in it out of the intermission, bringing the lead to just four with 14:43 left in the game, though this was as close as they would get for the remainder of the game.
A Dawes triple boosted the lead to double digits once again at the 10:59 mark of the second half, and it never dipped below that point. Odukale hammered in a putback slam at the 5:46 mark, bringing the lead to 22 and culminating a 10-0 run.
The Pirates went on to win their matchup against Lincoln despite early struggles, 82-55. Five players notched double figures for The Hall, led by 17 points and 7 rebounds from KC Ndefo. Dawes added 16 points, while Samuel finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds after a monster first half. Freshmen Jaquan Sanders and Tae Davis added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Seton Hall improves to 5-4 on the season and snaps a 3-game skid. They will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 11th at 6:30. They will travel cross-state to Jersey Mike's Arena to face rival Rutgers in the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023.
