BOX SCORE (.html)
BOX SCORE (.pdf)
NEWARK, N.J. Six West Virginia players scored in double-figures as the Mountaineers topped the Seton Hall men’s basketball team, 92-66. The Pirates (9-5, 0-2) were led once again by sophomore Jeremy Hazell (Harlem, N.Y) who scored a game-high 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Da’Sean Butler scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds, and Alex Ruoff had 18 points for WVU (11-2, 1-0).
The teams began the contest trading buckets, but the Mountaineers held an early 12-9 edge. John Flowers scored six quick points off the bench to extend the margin to 20-13 with 11:22 left in the first half.
Hazell pulled Seton Hall within two points after a three-pointer from the right wing with 8:06 left. West Virginia held the Pirates scoreless for the next four minutes and pushed the advantage to 30-20 after a Cam Thoroughman tip-in, and the Mountaineers held a 40-31 lead at the break.
WVU extended the lead to 12 after a Butler trey from the corner with 18:27 to go. Sophomore Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) netted six straight points for the Pirates to make it 48-42 with 13:49 on the clock.
The Mountaineers responded by outscoring SHU 17-6 over the next five minutes to build the lead back up to 63-48 with 9:53 remaining. Hazell scored after being fouled on a runner to pull the Pirates within, 63-55, but Darryl Bryant found Ruoff off a screen for a trifecta to make it a 15-point margin and put the game out of reach.
Harvey was the only other Seton Hall player in double-figures with 13 points. Junior Robert Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grabbed 11 rebounds and added six points.
West Virginia held a 39-28 edge on the boards, and scored 24 points on 15 Pirate turnovers. The Mountaineers shot 53.3 percent from the floor and 44.4 (8-of-18) from downtown.
Seton Hall returns to action on Tuesday, January 6 against Villanova at Prudential Center. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m.
