No. 23 Pirates Rain Threes to Edge St. John's

Sunday, December 31

Newark, N.J.

5 p.m.

Seton Hall University

13-2 (2-0BE)

St. John's

10-4 (0-2BE)

St. John's

Seton Hall

12/31/2017 7:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX (PDF)HIGHLIGHTS

NEWARK, N.J. – Senior Khadeen Carrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a game-high 24 points and the No. 23 Seton Hall men's basketball team connected on a season-high 13 three-pointers in a 75-70 victory over St. John's Sunday at Prudential Center to begin the conference season 2-0 and to start 13-2 overall for the first time since 2011-12.

Carrington was 6-for-13 from the field, including five made three-pointers, and was 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. He also had five rebounds and three steals in a strong all-around effort.

For the game, the Pirates drained a season-high 13 three-pointers (13-for-29), shooting 44.8%. The Hall was 10-for-18 from long distance in the first half alone, including four by Carrington, and three apiece from sophomore Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) and senior Desi Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.).

Rodriguez finished with 23 points, and was 4-for-9 from three-point range. He also had a season-high nine rebounds and three assists. Senior Angel Delgado (Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic) recorded his 11^th double-double of the season with 12 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. He also handed out a season-high six assists, and recorded three blocks.

Turning Point:
Ahead 31-29 late in the first half, the Pirates' went on a 12-2 spurt and a pair of made free throws by Carrington gave them their largest lead of the half, 43-31. St. John's scored a bucket with just over a minute left, and the Pirates took a 10-point lead into the break.

St. John's went on an 8-0 run shortly after halftime to cut the Seton Hall lead to two points, 45-43. The Pirates responded however, with a 13-0 run of their own, and a jumper by Rodriguez put them up, 58-43, with 13:03 left in the game.

The Red Storm continued the game of runs, holding the Pirates to just one field goal over the next 6:45, and cutting the Seton Hall lead to 60-58 with a 15-2 run. St. John's cut the lead to one point, 63-62, but thanks to strong defense and timely free-throw shooting by the Pirates down the stretch, The Hall was able to keep the advantage.

Leading 73-70, Rodriguez hit a runner in the paint with 15.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

PIRATES WIN!! Happy New Year's!! Khadeen Carrington had a game-high 24 points to go along with 5 rebounds and two assists ???? #HALLin #PiratePursuit

Presented by @LifeStorage pic.twitter.com/xAzJ2YQRBt
— Seton Hall MBB (@SetonHallMBB) January 1, 2018

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall shot 24-for-57 (42.1%) from the floor, and 13-for-29 (44.8%) from three-point range for the game. The Pirates had more made three-pointers than two-pointers for the game. St. John's was 27-for-59 (45.8%) from the floor, and 9-for-18 (50.0%) from three-point range.
The Pirates out-rebounded the Red Storm, 40-to-32, and had 16 offensive rebounds that they converted into 14 second-chance points.
The Hall had 19 assists and 17 turnovers for the game. It improved to 9-0 this season when it has a positive assist to turnover ratio.
Carrington led all scorers with 24 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor. He also was 5-for-10 from three-point range and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. He grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and had a team-best three steals.
Rodriguez recorded 23 points on 8-for-19 shooting from the floor, including 4-for-9 from three-point range. He had a season-high nine rebounds, three assists and one block.
Delgado notched his 11^th double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds. He also dished out a season-high six assists to go with three blocks and a steal. It's the 61^st double-double of his historic career, which leads the NCAA among active players.
Powell was a fourth Pirate to reach double-figures in scoring. He finished with 16 points on the strength of 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range, and also had two assists and a steal.
Neither team had a point from the bench.

When Seton Hall starts 2-0 in the BIG EAST, good things usually happen. Today's win represents the eighth time in program history The Hall has started 2-0 and in the previous seven times, it has ultimately resulted in five NCAA Tournament appearances and three BIG EAST Tournament championships.
Year	Start	Finish	Postseason
2017-18	2-0	???	???
2015-16	2-0	12-6	BIG EAST Tournament Champions; NCAA First Round
2014-15	2-0	6-12	None
1999-00	2-0	10-6	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1998-99	2-0	8-10	NIT First Round
1992-93	2-0	14-4	BIG EAST Regular Season & Tournament Champions
1990-91	2-0	9-7	BIG EAST Tournament Champions
1988-89	2-0	11-5	NCAA Final Four, National Runner-Up

News & Notes:

The victory improves Seton Hall to 13-2 overall on the season, its best season start since beginning 15-2 in 2011-12. The Pirates are also now a perfect 10-0 at home this season and have won 12 straight home games dating back to last season.
Seton Hall improves to 39-59 all-time against St. John's and is now 26-17 at home in the series. The Pirates have won the last four games against the Red Storm at the Prudential Center. Head coach Kevin Willard is now 7-5 against St. John's.
Carrington recorded 20 points in a game for the second time this season and the 20^th time of his career. Rodriguez reached 20 points for the sixth time this season and the 17^th of his career.
With 24 points tonight, Carrington passed former Pirates Arturas Karnisovas (1990-94) and Dick Gaines (1954-57) into 16^th place on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list. He now has 1,527 points for his career.
With 23 points tonight, Rodriguez passed former Pirates Jordan Theodore (2008-12), Darius Lane (1999-02) and James Major (1984-88) into 24^th place on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list. He now has 1,394 points for his career.
The Hall is now 56-4 in its last 60 games when holding at least a seven-point lead at any juncture of the contest.
With seven rebounds tonight, junior Michael Nzei (Makurdi, Nigeria) reached the 300 mark for his career.
With three assists tonight, Rodriguez reached the 150 mark for his career.
The Pirates improved to 153-50 (.754) all-time as an Associated Press top-25 team.
Seton Hall is now a perfect 8-0 in their "Glory Days White" uniform this season.
The victory improves Seton Hall to 13-6 all-time on New Year's Eve. The Pirates' last New Year's Eve game was in 2014, a 78-67 victory over St. John's at the Prudential Center.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 6 when it travels to Indianapolis, Ind. for a game against Butler in its first BIG EAST road contest of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The game will be televised on FS1 with Steve Physioc and Nick Bahe on the call. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will deliver the radio broadcast on WMCA 570, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.