The Seton Hall Pirates hosted the Northeastern Huskies on Nov. 29 at the Prudential Center in what was the biggest student turnout so far this season, and for good reason. The Hall left the Prudential Center with an impressive 88-75 victory to continue their dominance at home.
This matchup comes following an 0-2 showing at the Rady Children’s Invitational for Seton Hall. Despite their strong second halves, the Pirates lost 71-63 and 85-72 to Univ. of Southern California and Iowa, respectively.
Northeastern jumped out to a 4-point lead in the first minute before a 10-0 burst ensued for The Hall. The Huskies did not make a field goal for seven straight minutes, though they trailed just 13-9 with 11:20 left in the half.
Despite going 3-for-10 to start the game, the Pirates managed to convert on 11 of their next 14 field goals to take a commanding 34-20 advantage, the largest of the game up to that point. Freshman forward David Tubek checked in near the end of the first half, though didn’t check in again until the final minute of play.
“Great seeing him out there. First of many,” graduate center Jaden Bediako noted on Tubek’s collegiate debut.
Despite the deficit, Northeastern cut the lead in half before the break as Seton Hall finished the half shooting one for their last seven shots. The Pirates led 36-29 headed into the locker room. Seton Hall shot 47% in the first half compared to Northeastern’s 38%, though the Wildcats converted on just one of their 12 attempts from behind-the-arc.
Senior guard Al-Amir Dawes led all scorers with nine points and added four rebounds. Senior forward Dre Davis followed with seven points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting. Bediako and sophomore guard Jaquan Sanders added six points each in a strong first half effort, and Bediako added five boards.
The second half was an offensive clinic on both ends. Seton Hall scorched the stat sheet in the second half, shooting an impressive 78% from the field and 62.5% from behind-the-arc. Northeastern shot extremely well in their own respect, converting on 66.7% of their triples and 53.6% of their field goals overall. Had the Pirates shot any worse down the stretch, it’s likely Seton Hall would have fallen to the Huskies.
Northeastern’s hot hand wasn’t a match for the blistering Pirates, as Seton Hall emerged victorious, 88-75. Dawes led all scorers with 25 points along with five rebounds and five assists. Richmond wasn’t too far behind, as he scored 21 points, pulled down six boards, and dished six assists.
Free throw efficiency has been key for the team through the early part of the season, shooting 80% on the season. When asked post-game about the free throw success, Coach Shaheen Holloway joked in response to Asbury Press reporter Jerry Carino, “You’re jinxing us, Jerry!”
Bediako notched his best game of the season with a near double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds. Freshman Isaiah Coleman continued to shine off the bench with 11 points, three rebounds, a block, and three steals.
“It wasn’t surprising to me. That’s why we worked really hard to get him,” Holloway added in response to Coleman’s status against other Big East freshmen.
Seton Hall improves to 5-2 and stays undefeated at home. The Pirates face two challenging opponents in the coming weeks, traveling to Waco, TX to face No. 9 ranked Baylor on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 9pm before returning to New Jersey to host New Jersey rival Rutgers on Saturday, Dec. 9th at 8:30 pm.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu.
