Box Score (html)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.- Freshmen Larry Davis (Middle Village, N.Y.) and Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had stellar performances, as the Pirates defeated Pennsylvania, 94-85. Davis set career-highs with 27 points (8-for-10 FG) and 10 boards. Harvey recorded a double-double, putting up 14 points and dishing out a career-best 11 assists.
Trailing, 44-31, at the half, the Quakers (6-5) tried to mount a comeback. Pennsylvania drove to the basket often, forcing seniors Grant Billmeier (Pennington, N.J) and Stan Gaines (Chicago, Ill.) to foul out of the game. The Quakers were able to cut the Seton Hall lead to, 70-66, with 6:46 on the clock.
At the 5:03 mark the Pirates’ (7-2) full-court pressure forced back-to-back turnovers and scored six points in an 18 second span to regain a double-digit lead, 80-70. The Pirates then went 6-6 from the foul-line down the stretch to preserve the victory.
Pennsylvania stayed with Seton Hall for much of the first half, but Davis scored nine points to spark a 13-3 run, to give the Pirates a 36-21 lead, with 4:00 to go in the half.
Juniors Brian Laing (Bronx, N.Y.) and Jamar Nutter (Bloomfield, N.J.) had 18 points a piece for Seton Hall. The Pirates also shot a season-best 86.7 percent (26-for-30) from the charity stripe.
Pennsylvania’s Ibrahim Jaabar scored a game-high 32 points, while Mark Zoller scored 23 points and pulled down 12 boards.
The Pirates return to action at the BYU Classic in Provo, Utah against Oral Roberts on Thursday, Dec. 28. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.
