Photo courtesy of paradisejam.com
While a loaded recruiting class was the storyline of the preseason for Seton Hall men’s basketball, the Pirates’ returnees led the way for the second straight game in a 68-60 win over Nevada in the first round of the Paradise Jam Invitational on Friday night.
Senior forward Brandon Mobley and junior guard Sterling Gibbs combined for a fast start in the second half that the Pirates needed to hang on. With The Hall holding a 37-27 advantage following Mobley fed Gibbs for a triple in the opening seconds of the second stanza. Just over a minute later, Mobley continued to distribute as Gibbs cut inside for a lay-in. After D.J. Fenner knocked down a jumper, Mobley scored seven consecutive points around a timeout by the Wolfpack. Another three-ball by Gibbs with 12:41 left in regulation gave the Pirates a 53-34 advantage, completing a 16-7 run to open up the second half of play.
Mobley finished with 12 points on the night on 5-of-14 shooting, and has scored 31 points through two contests. Gibbs knocked down two triples, leading him to a 15-point performance along with three assists. On the rebounding front, freshman Angel Delgado led the charge with nine, giving him 21 in the first two games of his career.
Nevada did not go away easily, putting together a late rally. The Wolfpack made a 14-1 run to cut SHU’s lead to 63-57. A.J. West scored six points in under two minutes as a putback cut SHU’s lead to 62-49. Tyron Criswell followed West up with five straight points as a trey made the deficit nine with 2:39 to play in regulation.
With 1:04 to play, freshman Jaren Sina stepped to the free throw line and ended the run with two straight makes at the charity stripe. The Wolfpack saw Gibbs and Whitehead combine for three free throws before Criswell scored a trey with 21 seconds left, but it was too late.
Four ended up in double-figures for Nevada. Michael Perez shot 5-of-8 from the field, finishing with 12 points. Marqueze Coleman had 11 while the Pirates held West and standout guard D.J. Fenner to 10 apiece. The Wolfpack’s stagnant rhythm on offense was due in part to the Pirates’ pressuring defense. Nevada was held to 37 percent shooting (18-48) as the Wolfpack went 4-of-13 from three-point territory.
The Pirates forced 12 Nevada turnovers and out-rebounded the Wolfpack, 39-29.
For the first 12 minutes of the first half, The Hall and Nevada were in a tight affair. A lay-in by Coleman cut the Pirates’ lead to 20-18, but Sina hit a trey 25 seconds later to make it a five-point game again. It was the first bucket of a 7-0 run for Seton Hall, which was capped by Khadeen Carrington’s lay-in. The freshman guard finished with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Isaiah Whitehead found some rhythm after a two-point performance in Seton Hall’s 63-47 win over Mercer. The freshman knocked down his first career trey with 3:03 to play in the first half, giving SHU a 33-22 lead.
The Pirates will take on Gardner Webb in the Paradise Jam Semifinals at 6 p.m. eastern time on Sunday.
Gardner Webb’s Tyler Strange hit a triple with 6.6 seconds left to tie the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ game up at 70 against Clemson in the first round on Friday afternoon. The Tigers’ Donte Grantham went to call a timeout, but with none left, a technical foul was assessed to Clemson. Two free throws by Jarvis Davis gave Gardner Webb a lead it did not relinquish, as the Bulldogs went to 2-1 with the win, their first over an ACC opponent in program history.
John Fanta can be reached at john.fanta@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @John_Fanta.
