Seton Hall University
Caldwell
MBB Downs Caldwell in Exhibition; 67-49
11/2/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 2, 2013
Photo Gallery SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - A sellout crowd packed Historic Walsh Gymnasium on Saturday night and got a first look at the 2013-14 Seton Hall men's basketball team as the Pirates handled Caldwell College, 67-49, in exhibition action.
In his first on-court appearance for SHU, former Seton Hall Prep standout Sterling Gibbs (Scotch Plains, N.J.) led all scorers with 15 points and added a game-high four assists against only one turnover.
Senior big man Eugene Teague (Vineland, N.J.) was a force down low, recording 13 points on an efficient 6-for-8 shooting and snatching seven boards. Swingman Brian Oliver (Glassboro, N.J.) also reached double-figures, knocking down four treys and finishing with 12 points to go along with five rebounds and three blocks.
Teague and Oliver combined to account for the first 11 Seton Hall points of the night before a layup from forward Patrik Auda (Brno, Czech Republic) - who returned to the floor after missing the final 27 games of the 2012-13 campaign - gave The Hall an early 13-7 edge.
Caldwell responded with a 7-0 run to take a short-lived lead but Gibbs and Teague helped the Pirates assert themselves inside, scoring back-to-back layups to regain the advantage.
A 3-pointer with 5:53 remaining in the period gave the Cougars what would be their final lead of the night at 18-17, but the Pirates bounced back to close the first half on a 14-3 run. Gibbs tallied seven points during the stretch, including a layup that just beat the buzzer to give the Pirates a 31-21 lead heading into the break.
The second half started much like the first as finishes in close from Teague bookended another triple from Oliver as The Hall pushed the score to 38-26 early in the period.
SHU's next four field goals came from inside the paint and a fastbreak layup from newcomer Hakeem Harris (Bergenfield, N.J.) plus the subsequent free-throw stretched the gap to 13 at 47-34 with just over nine minutes to play.
The finish by Harris kick-started an 11-0 run that saw five different Pirates score over a four minute span.
Gibbs and starting backcourt mate Jaren Sina (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) combined to tally 10 of the final 12 Seton Hall points of the contest as the Pirates rode a massive 38-to-12 advantage in points in the paint to a comfortable win.
Sina found his stroke late in the game and ended the night with six points and one assist in 24 minutes. Harris finished with seven points; as did junior Haralds Karlis (Riga, Latvia) who was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and totaled five rebounds as well in 14 minutes.
Auda added six points and a game-high 11 rebounds while impressing with his level of activity.
Dawan Lighty and Wyatt Polk contributed 11 points apiece for Caldwell.
Seton Hall will make its regular season debut on Saturday, November 9 against Niagara at the Prudential Center. The game is part of the 2013 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and is scheduled to tip-off at 6:00 p.m.
The Pirates and Purple Eagles last met in 1991 but SHU is a perfect 6-0 in Prudential Center home openers since moving into the building in 2007-08. The game will air nationally on FOX Sports 2.
