Seton Hall University
Lafayette
MBB Routs Lafayette; 90-58 in Non-Conference Finale
12/27/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 27, 2013
WATCH POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall men's basketball team wrapped up non-league play with a wire-to-wire victory inside Historic Walsh Gymnasium on Friday night, overpowering the visiting Lafayette Leopards en route to a convincing 90-58 win.
Making their only scheduled regular season appearance in Walsh Gym; the Pirates (9-4) turned in their most balanced performance of the year before a sellout crowd and matched the most lopsided win of the Kevin Willard era in the process.
The margin of victory was the largest for Seton Hall overall since a 79-47 drubbing of Providence - the Pirates' next opponent - in the first round of the 2012 BIG EAST Tournament.
Senior center Eugene Teague (Vineland, N.J.) led four Pirates in double-figures with 18 points, finishing 7-for-8 from the floor. The BIG EAST leader in rebounds entering the night, Teague also snatched 11 boards to record his fifth double-double in the last six games despite leaving due to injury after only 19 minutes of action.
Frontcourt-mate Brandon Mobley (Savannah, Ga.) added 16 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season while Brian Oliver (Glassboro, N.J.) chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds in his third-consecutive start.
The Hall took a 32-point lead into the intermission and never saw the advantage dip below the 30-point mark in the final 17 minutes of the contest, coasting to its fifth victory in the last six games. Lafayette pulled to within 70-38 with just over 10 minutes remaining but over the next four minutes, Mobley and Sterling Gibbs (Scotch Plains, N.J.) combined to score eight points during an 11-2 run that gave Seton Hall its largest lead of the night - and the season - at 81-40.
Seeing his first action since an injury forced him out of the Saint Peter's game on December 14, Gibbs contributed 14 points and three assists while not committing a turnover in 18 minutes off the bench.
The Pirates coasted to the finish, reaching the 90-point plateau for the second-straight game, the first time the program has done so in back-to-back games since the 2009-10 season.
Seton Hall dominated inside from the outset as Teague accounted for the six points of the contest down low to help The Hall jump out to a quick 6-0 lead. The Leopards responded with five unanswered points of their own but an ensuing 26-2 run that included 18 more points in the paint helped the Pirates open a 32-7 advantage with just over six minutes to go before the half.
The visitors went scoreless for over seven minutes during the stretch and Seton Hall ultimately scored 26 points in the paint before Lafayette recorded its first bucket from in close; a layup from Dan Trist at the 5:35 mark that snapped a streak of 12-straight missed shots for the Leopards. All nine players who saw action for The Hall in the first half scored at least two points and behind stout defense and an opportunistic attack, the Pirates closed the period with a 47-15 edge.
Lafayette (4-7) was limited to just 6-for-33 (18.2 percent) from the field in the first 20 minutes and Seton Hall outscored the Leopards, 17-0, on the fast break.
Picked to finish second in the Patriot League prior to the year and ranked as the top scoring team in the conference entering the night, no Lafayette player reached double-digits as Trist, Michael Hoffman and Joey Ptasinski all tied for a team-high with nine points.
As a team, the Leopards managed to shoot only 21-for-65 (32.3 percent) for the game.
The Pirates also forced Lafayette into 14 giveaways due in part to another stellar defensive showing from senior Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.). Edwin, who recorded eight steals in a reserve role against Eastern Washington - his first game back from injury - returned to the starting lineup and registered six more steals to push his BIG EAST leading total to 36 for the season.
The Paterson native now has 254 for his career, placing him just two behind Paul Gause for second in school history and only six shy of Dan Callandrillo's all-time mark of 260.
Seton Hall has concluded non-conference play and will open the BIG EAST portion of its schedule at Providence on Tuesday, December 31 as part of a day-long New Year's Eve marathon on FOX Sports 1. The Pirates and Friars are scheduled to tip-off at 2:30 p.m. and a radio broadcast will also be available on 970 AM WNYM and through SHUPirates.com.
