Men's Basketball to host Monmouth, Tuesday at Prudential Center

COMPLETE GAME NOTES

MONMOUTH (1-6) at SETON HALL (5-1)

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Prudential Center - Newark, N.J.

7:30 p.m. ET

SETON HALL STATUS:

The Pirates once again turned in a top second half performance to overcome a halftime deficit and defeat Delaware, 75-70, on Saturday.  Four Pirates scored in double-figures, with Jeremy Hazell leading with way with a game-high 17 points.  Seton Hall has won five of their first six games with their lone loss coming to #12-ranked Memphis.

MONMOUTH STATUS:

The Hawks picked up their first victory of the season on Saturday with a 55-47 victory at NJIT.  Monmouth trailed at the half, but pulled away in the second frame.  The Hawks enter the game with a 1-6 record.  R.J. Rutledge and Travis Taylor are both averaging in double-figures in scoring.

THE MATCHUP:

This will be the 10th meeting all-time between Seton Hall and Monmouth.  Seton Hall has never lost in this series, sporting a perfect 9-0 record.  Last season, the Hawks opened the Prudential Center in Seton Hall’s season-opener.  The Pirates won, 89-81, in overtime.

TV:

None

Radio:

WABC 770 AM

Gary Cohen & Dave Popkin

WSOU 89.5 FM

Steve Faulks, Brian Wisowaty

and Chad Cooper

Web:

www.shupirates.com

Live Audio Stream

Officials:

John Cahill, James Breeding and Frank Scagliotta

THIS WEEK IN THE FINAL FOUR SEASON OF 1988-89

(December 2 - December 8, 1988)

Seton Hall had a highly successful week with three convincing home victories over Central Connecticut (Dec. 2, 81-42), Mount St. Mary’s (Dec. 3, 107-75) and Saint Peter’s (Dec. 6, 90-63) to run their record to a perfect 6-0 on the young season.  Fresh off winning the Great Alaskan Shootout, the Pirates took the Seton Hall Tip-off Tournament at Walsh Gym with their wins over Central Connecticut and Mount St. Mary’s.

This season Seton Hall is celebrating its 20th Anniversary of the 1988-89 team’s magical run to the Final Four. 

SCOUTING MONMOUTH

The Hawks had a difficult start to the 2008-09 season with six consecutive losses before finally breaking through to the win column with a 55-47 victory over winless NJIT on Saturday.  Two Hawks are averaging in double-figures in scoring.  Sophomore R.J. Rutledge is averaging a team-high 10.3 points per game, while freshman Travis Taylor is chipping in 10.1 points per game.  Monmouth is only averaging 57.9 points per game while giving up 72.7.  They’re losing the rebounding battle for the season 31.1-to-35.6 and the turnover battle, 16.3-to-13.1.

SETON HALL - MONMOUTH SERIES

Seton Hall and Monmouth will meet for only the 10th time in history.  The Pirates have never lost to the Hawks, sporting a 9-0 all-time series lead.  In their last meeting, Seton Hall needed overtime to defeat Monmouth, 89-81, in the Pirates’ season-opener on Nov. 11, 2007.  It was the closest game in the history of the series.

PIRATES vs. THE NEC

Seton Hall will take on their second Northeast Conference opponent of the year when they host Monmouth on Tuesday.  They’ve already faced Saint Francis in the season-opener and defeated the Terriers, 88-61.  The Pirates will take on a third NEC opponent, Fairleigh Dickinson, on Dec. 27.  Last season, the Pirates went 2-0 against the NEC with overtime victories against Monmouth (89-81) and Robert Morris (111-107).  Seton Hall has had a long history of success against teams from the Northeast Conference.  They have a record of 127-40 all-time.  In addition to their perfect 9-0 record against Monmouth, they’re 47-11 against St. Francis (N.Y.) and 16-3 against Fairleigh Dickinson.

PIRATES STIFLE DELAWARE, 75-70

Seton Hall overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Delaware, 75-70 on Saturday and improve to 5-1 on the young season.  Four Pirates scored in double-figures.  Sophomore Jeremy Hazell led the way with 17 points.  Seton Hall, who were down by as many as 11 points, trailed by seven at the half.  Junior Eugene Harvey scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to spur the comeback.

COMING OUT PARTY

Freshman Jordan Theodore enjoyed the best game of his young collegiate career.  The Englewood, N.J. native scored a career-high 13 points in a career-high 27 minutes of action.  Theodore’s first bucket of the game snapped an 11-0 Delaware lead.  He also recorded four assists and two steals.

COMEBACK KIDS

In three of Seton Hall’s five victories, the Pirates trailed by at least 11 points at some point throughout the matchup.  They also trailed at the half in three victories.  Showing remarkable resilience, Seton Hall trailed #19 USC by 15 at the half, but ended up winning by two.  The Hall trailed Virginia Tech by 14, before eventually beating the Hokies by four.  Most recently, the Pirates trailed Delaware by as many as 11, before rallying and defeating the Fightin’ Blue Hens by five.

GARCIA GETTING OFFENSIVE

Senior John Garcia had his best offensive game of the 2008-09 season against Delaware.  The 6-foot-9 center scored a season-high 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 38 minutes of action.

STEALS LEADER

For the third straight year, Seton Hall is on top of the BIG EAST Conference in steals per game average.  Through six games, the Pirates are averaging 9.5 steals per game which leads the conference.  Seton Hall finished the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons as the BIG EAST steals leader as well.

HONORS FOR HAZELL:  BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK/ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Sophomore Jeremy Hazell was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Monday, which is the first of the conference awards for the 2008-09 season and takes into consideration all of the teams’ games up to this point.  Hazell was also named to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off All-Tournament Team.  Hazell averaged 23.3 points per game and hit the game-winning three-pointer in Seton Hall’s dramatic victory over #19 USC.  In the Pirates’ only loss, Hazell fired a career-high 32 points.  He completed his stellar tournament by leading Seton Hall with 23 points vs. Virginia Tech. 

APPROACHING 1,000 POINTS

With his 15 point performance vs. Delaware on Saturday, junior Eugene Harvey needs only 20 points to become the 36th player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 career points.  Last season, Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter both eclipsed the milestone.  Harvey would be only the 20th player to accomplish the feat in less than three seasons.

INSIDE THE STATS

Sophomore Jeremy Hazell led the team in scoring vs. Delaware for the fifth time this season.  Hazell is averaging a team-best 21.8 points per game and added 17 vs. the Fightin’ Blue Hens.  Senior John Garcia had 13 points and seven rebounds, but is still averaging a double-double.  Junior Eugene Harvey scored 13 of his 15 points vs. Delaware in the second half as he was forced into more of a scoring role.  He still notched two assists, adding to his team lead.  Senior Paul Gause grabbed three steals.

GAUSE CLIMBING THEFT CHART

Senior Paul Gause enters his senior season in sixth place all-time on the career steals list with 185.  He trails the leader, Dan Callandrillo, by 75.  Due to two injuries that caused him to miss 16 games last season, Gause was only able to collect 45 steals in 2007-08.  But the prior year, 2006-07, he recorded a conference-leading 90 thefts which set a single-season record.  If Gause duplicates that effort this year, he’ll set the all-time career record.  Gause is also a member of the 500-Point Club.  He currently has 587 career points which ranks him second on the active list (Harvey 980).

NATIONAL ATTENTION

For the first time this season, Seton Hall has earned two points in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll.  The Pirates caught the eyes of national writers with their victory over #19 USC on Thursday and win over ACC contender Virginia Tech on Sunday.  The BIG EAST is well-represented in the poll as the conference occupies #2 (Connecticut), #3 (Louisville), #4 (Pittsburgh), #8 Notre Dame, #15 Marquette, #20 Villanova and #21 Georgetown.  Syracuse and West Virginia join Seton Hall in receiving votes. 

NEWEST MEMBER OF 500 POINT CLUB

Seton Hall’s newest member of the 500-Point Club is sophomore Jeremy Hazell.  The 6-foot-5 guard reached the milestone vs. Memphis on Friday.  Currently, Hazell ranks 92nd all-time in scoring with 540 points.

SETON HALL PLACES THIRD IN PUERTO RICO

With Sunday’s victory over Virginia Tech, Seton Hall placed third amongst the eight teams in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off.  Facing steep competition, the Pirates went 2-1 with victories over #19 USC and Virginia Tech.  Their only setback was to #12 Memphis.  Xavier won the tournament, defeating runner-up Memphis in the championship game. 

PIRATES RALLY AGAIN; BEAT VIRGINIA TECH, 77-73

For the second time in three games, Seton Hall found themselves down by double-digits, but found a way to come back.  This time, they were down 14 to Virginia Tech, but rallied to defeat the Hokies, 77-73.  Three Pirates scored in double-figures.  Sophomore Jeremy Hazell led the team with 23 points.  Junior Robert Mitchell, playing in his first game of the tournament, scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.  Senior Paul Gause scored a season-high 14 points. 

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

Seton Hall was one of eight teams participating in the 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tipoff in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 20-23.  The Pirates played three games against some of the best competition in the country.  Other teams included Fairfield, Memphis, Missouri, USC, UT-Chattanooga, Virginia Tech and Xavier.  Seton Hall faced #19 USC, #12 Memphis and Virginia Tech and earned two victories.  All three games were televised nationally on ESPNU.

PLAYING IN PUERTO RICO

This is the second time the Seton Hall basketball program has played in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  During the 1984-85 season, the Pirates participated in the Copa Navidad Classic.  In two games, Seton Hall defeated North Carolina A&T, 73-67, and Tennessee State, 97-88.  Seton Hall is now 4-1 all-time in Puerto Rico.

PIRATES FALL TO #12 MEMPHIS, 84-70

Seton Hall suffered their first loss of the season on Friday as they dropped the semifinal game of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off to #12 Memphis, 84-70.  The Pirates fell behind in the first half due to 11 turnovers and a 16-to-0 points off turnovers edge for Memphis.  Seton Hall played the Tigers even, 40-to-40 in the second frame, but it wasn’t enough.  The Pirates out-shot the Tigers, 40.7%-to-39.7%, but the Tigers out-rebounded Seton Hall 46-to-36.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

Senior John Garcia has recorded double-doubles in three of his first five games this season... including two in Puerto Rico.  In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off opener, Garcia grabbed a tournament-record 18 points to go with 11 points in Seton Hall’s 63-61 victory over #19 USC.  Most recently, he collected 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds vs. Memphis.  The 6-foot-9 center now has eight double-doubles for his career.

BIG GAME FOR BIG MIKE

Sophomore Mike Davis has shown glimpses of great potential throughout his Seton Hall career, but it his success was always marred by foul trouble.  However, against USC on Thursday, Davis played a career-high 30 minutes, besting his previous career-high of 18 minutes, and committed only three fouls. 

PIRATES SHOCK #19 USC, 63-61

Seton Hall rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat #19 USC, 63-61, in their quarterfinal game of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-off on Thursday.  Seton Hall trailed 43-28 at the half, but outscored the Trojans 35-to-18 in the second frame.  USC shot 62.% from the floor in the first half compared to a paltry 24.1% in the second.  Three Pirates scored in double-figures and were led by junior Eugene Harvey who scored 18 points to go with five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

RIPPING THE RANKED

Thursday’s victory over #19 USC is Seton Hall’s second victory over a ranked team in the Bobby Gonzalez era.  Last year, the Pirates defeated #23 Virginia to win the Philly Hoop Group Classic.  All-time, the Pirates are 63-194 (.245) against the Associated Press Top-25.  Seton Hall is 5-6 all-time against teams ranked #19.  Seton Hall faces #12 Memphis on Friday.  The Pirates are only 1-6 all-time against a #12 team.

HARVEY FLIRTS WITH TRIP-DUB

For the second straight game a Pirate flirted with a triple-double.  Paul Gause game close on opening night, but against Columbia, Eugene Harvey came close to making history.  Harvey recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.  The double-double, as it ended up, was the second of Harvey’s career.  It was the first time Harvey had reached double-figures in rebounds.

STIX FINALLY GETS HIS CHANCE

After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer regulations, Robert Mitchell has finally suited up for the Pirates.  In Seton Hall’s season-opener, Mitchell scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds.  In 2006-07 at Duquesne, Mitchell led the team in scoring with a 16.4 points per game average, which ranked ninth in the nation among Division I freshmen.  He made 18 starts and pulled down 5.4 rebounds per game.  Mitchell was named Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week five times en route to being ultimately named Rookie of the Year by the conference.

LAING, NUTTER SIGN OVERSEAS

Former Seton Hall men’s basketball players Brian Laing and Jamar Nutter have signed professional contracts to play basketball in Europe this year.  Laing has signed with STB Le Havre of France, while Nutter signed with Bakken of Denmark.  Saint Thomas Basket Le Havre plays in France’s “A” league, which is considered the top French professional league.  Laing will be reunited with former BIG EAST foe Kentrell Gransberry.  STB Le Havre signed the former USF center earlier this summer.  Meanwhile, Nutter will attempt to lead his Bakken Bears to a third consecutive Danish League championship.

KAZIMIR, RHODES JOIN PIRATES’ STAFF

During the summer, head coach Bobby Gonzalez added two to his staff.  Dennis Kazimir was hired as Director of Basketball Operations, while Rodrick Rhodes was named Administrative Assistant.  A former assistant coach at Tiffin and Wright State, Kazimir replaces Stephen Sauers.  A five-year NBA veteran and UMass administrator, Rhodes replaces Elvis Valcarcel.

904 POINTS IN TWO SEASONS

Currently, Harvey has 980 career points.  With 20 more, junior Eugene Harvey will become only the 20th player in Seton Hall history to record 1,000 career points in less than three full seasons.  Harvey’s 904 points is the eighth highest total in a players first two seasons all-time at Seton Hall.  He’ll be the 36th player overall to record 1,000 career points.

GARY & DAVE RETURN

The broadcast team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will be back for their sixth season covering Seton Hall on the Pirates’ radio flagship station, 77WABC.  For the second straight year, all Seton Hall broadcasts will be heard on 77WABC.  The 2008-09 season marks the 20th season for radio engineer Mike Infantino.

LIVE AUDIO STREAM

Go to www.shupirates.com to listen to all of Seton Hall’s home and away games as a part of the Hall Pass.  Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will bring you all the action.  Get the HALL PASS Today!  

TV EXPOSURE

All 18 of the Pirates’ BIG EAST match-ups will be televised either nationally or regionally this season.  Additionally, all three Seton Hall games at the 2008 O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be televised nationally on ESPNU or ESPN2.  Collectively, the Pirates will get the nation’s attention 10 times with at least three broadcasts on either ESPN or ESPN2 (vs. Rutgers on Jan. 29, vs. St. John’s on Feb. 5 and the BIG EAST Championship), six on ESPNU (three in Puerto Rico, vs. Providence on Jan. 22, at Rutgers on Feb. 8 and at DePaul on Feb. 10) and one on ESPN360 (at Cincinnati on March 7).  The remaining 12 conference games will be BIG EAST Network local telecasts with 11 being broadcasted on SNY and one be shown on MSG.  The Pirates’ game vs. Connecticut on February 14 is the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week.

OVERTIME

Seton Hall’s victory over in Monmouth last season’s opener marked the first time they opened the season with an overtime game since they defeated Catholic, 69-67, to start the 1963-64 campaign.  The Pirates’ victory over Robert Morris marked the first time in the history of the program that they’ve started the season with two straight overtime games.  In all, Seton Hall set a record with five overtime games last year.  Through six games in 2008-09, the Pirates haven’t had any.

BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP EXPANDS TO ALL 16

In 2009, the BIG EAST will invite all 16 teams to its men’s and women’s championship tournaments.  The men’s tournament begins Tuesday, March 10 and continues through the championship game, which will be played Saturday, March 14.  All games will be played at Madison Square Garden.  The top four teams will receive byes in the first two rounds of tournament play, while seeds 5-8 will receive byes in the first round.

BIG EAST PREDICTIONS

Seton Hall was predicted to finish 13th in the 16-team BIG EAST Conference for the second consecutive season.    Connecticut is the favorite to win the regular-season title in the 2008-09 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll.  Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody has been picked to repeat as Player of the Year.  Georgetown’s Greg Monroe and Louisville’s Samardo Samuels were selected BIG EAST Co-Rookies of the Year.  Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

MARINATTO TO BE NEXT BIG EAST COMMISH

John Marinatto, who has served as senior associate commissioner of The BIG EAST Conference since 2002, has been named Commissioner of the conference.  The appointment was made by a unanimous vote of the league’s Chancellors and Presidents.  Marinatto will succeed Mike Tranghese, who is stepping down as Commissioner in June 2009. Marinatto will assume Commissioner’s duties on July 1, 2009.

PIRATES SET FOR YEAR TWO IN PRUDENTIAL CENTER

Last season the Pirates opened their new home, Prudential Center, and the state-of-the-art facility drew raves from the scores of Seton Hall fans.  Seton Hall recorded five sellout crowds in the building’s inaugural season.  This year, Seton Hall has 16 home games including marquee matchups against Georgetown and Pittsburgh as well as local rivals Rutgers, St. John’s and Connecticut. 

AIR JORDAN LANDS IN SOUTH ORANGE

Freshman guard Jordan Theodore is a key member of Bobby Gonzalez’s 2008-09 recruiting class.  Theodore averaged 16.9 points, 6.7 assists and 4.6 steals per game as a junior at Paterson Catholic.  He helped lead them to an 18-8 record and scored a career-high 31 points vs. DePaul in the county final.  Additionally, he was the point guard for the #1 rated summer AAU basketball team, the New York Gauchos.  Recently, Theodore was named a Preseason All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention by CollegeHoops.net.

LAWRENCE, POPE TRANSFER IN

Over the summer, head coach Bobby Gonzalez acquired two impact transfers, Keon Lawrence and Herb Pope.  Lawrence played basketball the last two seasons at the University of Missouri.  Last season, he played in all 32 games and averaged a team-high 29.2 minutes per game.  He led the team in field goal attempts and averaged 11.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while making 20 starts.    Pope played basketball last season at New Mexico State University.  Last season, he appeared in 16 games and made 12 starts.  A native of Aliquippa, Pa., he averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.  Named to the 2008 All-WAC Newcomer Team, Pope’s two best performances came in the WAC Tournament.  As of today, both players will sit out the 2008-09 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

ALL-TIME 1,000-POINT MILESTONES

With Laing and Nutter reaching the 1,000-point plateau last season, it marked the eighth time that two players reached the milestone in the same season.  Most recently, Donnell Williams and Levell Sanders reached it during the 1997-98 season.  In 1988-89, three players reached the mark, John Morton, Ramon Ramos and Darryl Walker.  This season, junior Eugene Harvey (980) and sophomore Jeremy Hazell (540) have an outside chance at joining this exclusive club. 

LOOKING AHEAD

 

CALIFORNIA BAPTIST

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

7:30 p.m. ET

Prudential Center Newark, N.J.

TV:  None

Live Audio Stream:  www.shupirates.com

Radio:  WABC 770 AM / WSOU 89.5 FM

NOTEBOOK:  Following the Monmouth game, the Pirates will be off for a week before taking on California Baptist.  This will be the first time in history that the Pirates have faced the Lancers of Riverside, California.  California Baptist returns three starters from a team that went 24-9 last season and made it to the Sweet-16 of the NAIA National Championship Tournament.  Three players who scored in double-figures last season return.  Mark Roussin leads the way for the Lancers.  The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 17.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last season.

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