Seton Hall University
Wake Forest
MBB Rallies Again; Downs Wake
12/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Junior Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) scored 17 of his team-high 24 points in the second half as the Seton Hall men's basketball team rallied from a 14-point second half deficit to defeat Wake Forest, 71-67, Saturday.
Edwin scored 24 points and pulled down seven rebounds while playing all but one minute of the game. Junior Gene Teague (Vineland, N.J.) scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Brandon Mobley (Savannah, Ga.) notched his second career double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Seton Hall (7-2) started the game on fire, connecting on four of their first six shots to take an early 9-2 lead. But Wake Forest would respond, and a three-pointer by C.J. Harris gave the Demon Deacons their first lead of the game, 16-13. Aaron Cosby (Louisville, Ky.) hit a free-throw, but Wake Forest scored in transition on their next two possessions to cap a 12-1 run and take a 20-14 lead with 6:23 left in the first half.
The Pirates responded with a 9-0 run, and a trio of Cosby free-throws enabled them to re-take the lead, 23-20. But the Deacons' C.J. Harris connected on three-pointers in back-to-back possessions to put Wake back in front, 26-23 with 2:55 remaining before halftime.
Edwin scored to make the score 26-25, but the Demon Deacons went on an 8-0 run on the strength of two more three-pointers by Harris to take a commanding 34-25 lead with under a minute left in the half. Teague scored at the halftime buzzer to send the Pirates into the locker room down nine, 36-27.
Seton Hall out-rebounded Wake Forest, 24-to-15, in the first half, but shot an uncharacteristic 1-for-10 from three-point range. The Pirates also turned the ball over 12 times, which turned into 20 Wake Forest points.
Teague got the second half started by scoring inside, but Wake Forest scored the next seven points to take their largest lead of the night, 43-29, with 17:48 remaining in regulation.
Over the next 10 minutes, Seton Hall methodically crept back into the game. Brian Oliver (Glassboro, N.J.) flushed home a missed shot and the Pirates were within four, 55-51. After a pair of C.J. Harris free-throws, Cosby and Brandon Mobley (Savannah, Ga.) scored on back-to-back possessions to pull Seton Hall closer, 57-55.
A steal and layup by Tom Maayan (Galil, Israel) tied the game at 59 with 4:35 to go. After four straight points by Wake Forest, the Pirates went on a 6-0 run capped a jumper by Maayan to give The Hall a 65-63 lead with only 2:18 left to play. The Deacon's Rountree connected on one free-throw, but after a Pirates' turnover, C.J. Harris connected on his seventh three-pointer of the night to give Wake Forest a 67-65 lead with just 54 seconds remaining.
After Teague pulled the Pirates within one on a free-throw, the Pirates stole the inbound pass and Mobley slammed home the go-ahead basket, 68-67, with 28 left. After Wake missed on the other end, Edwin was fouled, and he calmly sank two free-throws to give the Pirates a 70-67 lead with 7.7 seconds remaining.
Seton Hall dominated the Deacons on the glass, out-rebounding them 44-to-23 for the game. The Pirates won despite shooting just 2-for-16 from long-range and committing 23 turnovers.
C.J. Harris scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the first half while Wake Forest built its early lead.
The Pirates will take a week off before returning to action on Sunday, Dec. 16 vs. North Carolina A&T at the Prudential Center. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
