Seton Hall University
Norfolk State
MBB Downs Norfolk State, 78-65
11/13/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Seton Hall (2-0) has now won all six openers at "The Rock" since moving in to start the 2007-08 season. SHU also improved to 2-0 against NSU and 12-0 all-time against current members of the MEAC.
For the second consecutive game, the Pirates had at least three players score in double-figures and were led by a pair of double-doubles from Garden State products Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) and Gene Teague (Vineland, N.J.).
Edwin tallied a game-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds as he recorded the second double-double of his career. The 2011-12 national steals leader was also up to his old tricks on the defensive end, recording six steals to help stymie the Spartan attack. Teague dominated the area around the basket throughout the matchup, racking up 16 points and leading all players with 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end. Kyle Smyth (River Edge, N.J.) added 14 points off the bench on 4-of-4 shooting from downtown.
The first bucket of the game came off a turnover as Edwin glided in for a layup following a Spartan giveaway on the opening possession. The bucket gave the Pirates an advantage that they would hold for much of the half as the lead only changed hands twice. With the National Hockey League still mired in a lockout, the Prudential Center saw its first line change of the season as Patrik Auda (Brno, Czech Republic), Aaron Cosby (Louisville, Ky.), Aaron Geramipoor (Manchester, England), Haralds Karlis (Riga, Latvia) and Smyth all checked in with The Hall ahead 5-1 at the 14:43 mark. Smyth provided the spark as he proceeded to convert on all three of his long range attempts in the next four-plus minutes, the last of which gave SHU its largest lead of the half at 18-12.
After carrying a 31-29 edge into the locker room, the Pirates jumped out early in the second half and never looked back. Up 16 with just over a minute to play, Auda provided the exclamation mark when he powered down the lane for a thunderous dunk to give Seton hall its largest lead of the game at 76-58.
With the win, The Hall has now won 15 of its last 18 regular season home contests after posting a 13-3 record in friendly confines last season. For Norfolk State (1-1), the result broke a five-game regular season winning streak that dated back to February 15 of last season.
Brandon Mobley (Savannah, Ga.) started and grabbed 10 rebounds. Maayan had a game-high five assists.
Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 17 at the Mohegan Sun when they face last year's Pac-12 regular season champion Washington as part of the neutral court portion of the 2012 Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
