Balanced No. 19 Pirates Beat VCU in #NFTC2017

Saturday, December 9

Newark, N.J.

3 p.m.

Seton Hall University

8-1

VCU

5-5

VCU

Seton Hall

12/9/2017 5:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX (PDF)PHOTOS HIGHLIGHTS

Newark, N.J. - All five Seton Hall men's basketball starters scored in double figures, led by senior Desi Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) and his 17 points, as the No. 19 Pirates held VCU to 38.5 percent shooting in a 90-67 victory Saturday at Prudential Center as part of the 2017 Never Forget Tribute Classic.

The Pirates (8-1) have now opened the season with five wins over KenPom top-100 teams, including each of the last four games.

In addition to Rodriguez's 17, sophomore Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) scored 16 points and dished out a career-high five assists. Senior Angel Delgado (Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic) produced a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Mike Nzei (Makurdi, Nigeria) produced 13 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and senior Khadeen Carrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also contributed 13 points and four assists.

THAT'S WHAT WE DO!! We had FIVE score in double-figures! #PiratePursuit #HALLin #NFTC2017

Presented by @LifeStorage pic.twitter.com/h1GFtGHxqn
— Seton Hall MBB (@SetonHallMBB) December 9, 2017

Turning Point
Seton Hall turned up the defense mid-first half that helped create separation. Leading 16-12 with 12:20 left, the Pirates went on a 10-0 run that lasted nearly six minutes. In that span VCU was 0-for-9 from the field with three turnovers. A VCU free throw broke the scoreless drought, but the Pirates held the Rams without a field goal until Tillman made a bucket with 6:00 left.

In that time, the Pirates had built a double-digit advantage. Powell had five points during the 10-0 run, including a big three-pointer at 9:08 to give The Hall its first double-digit lead, 23-12. Rodriguez punctuated things with a three-pointer of his own at 6:16 to put the Pirates on top 29-13. They went into halftime leading 43-30.

The hot shooting continued in the second half with back-to-back jumpers from Delgado, a three-point play from Carrington, two jumpers from Rodriguez and one from Nzei carried The Hall early as the Pirates made seven of their first nine attempts from the field.

VCU continued its struggles with three early turnovers and many missed shots as The Hall went up by 21 at 11:10 to play on a Carrington jumper.

Seton Hall got the lead up to as many as 26 points before finishing with the 23-point victory.

Inside the Numbers

Seton Hall shot 54.7 percent from the field, going 35-for-64. The 35 field goals were a season high. Take out the 5-for-14 from three-point range, and the Pirates made 60 percent of their two-point attempts. The Pirates turned in their best free throw shooting performance of the season so far, making 15 of 18 (83.3 percent).
VCU only shot 38.5 percent from the field, making 25 of 65 attempts. The Rams were only 6-for-22 from behind the arc and 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Pirates dominated in the paint, outscoring the Rams 52-30 down low.
Seton Hall out-rebounded VCU 38-35 and used 10 offensive rebounds to generate 11 second chance points.
The Pirates racked up 20 assists on their 35 field goals made.
The 90 points scored matched a season high; the Pirates also scored 90 in the season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Delgado picked up his NCAA-leading 56th career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. He was 6-for-12 shooting from the field and he issued three assists.
Rodriguez led the Pirates in scoring for the seventh time in nine games as he produced 17 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists.
Powell continues to be the only Pirate to score in double figures in every game this season; he had 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He also dished out a career-high five assists.
Nzei, one of the most efficient shooters in the nation, went 7-for-8 from the field to produce 14 points. He is 22-for-32 from the field this season (68.8 percent).
Carrington made all seven of his free throw attempts and was 3-for-8 from the field to finish with 13 points. He also had four assists and four rebounds.

One of the most complete teams in the country @SetonHallMBB. They defend, rebound, share he ball and attack match ups. @desirodriguez6 Delgado,Carrington, Powell have great trust and chemistry. Coach Willard is connected to his team.
— Seth Greenberg (@SethOnHoops) December 9, 2017

News & Notes

Seton Hall is now 2-0 all-time against VCU. The first matchup came back in 2011.
The Hall now has five wins over KenPom top-100 teams, including victories over Indiana (82), Vanderbilt (73), Texas Tech (18), Louisville (26) and now VCU (86).
Seton Hall has now won 25 consecutive non-conference home games, including 21 at Prudential Center. The Pirates are 64-8 all-time in non-conference home games at The Rock. The current streak was tied for 10th longest in the nation going into the game.
The Pirates improved to 148-49 all-time as an AP top-25 team and are now 6-2 all-time when ranked at No. 19.
Seton Hall is now 43-13 all-time when Delgado generates a double-double, 28-8 all-time when Rodriguez scores at least 15 points and 6-1 when Nzei scores at least 10 points.
The Pirates are now 52-3 in their last 55 games when holding at least a seven-point lead at any juncture of the contest.
Carrington surpassed Adrian Griffin (1992-96) and is now 21st all-time in scoring at Seton Hall with 1,423 points.
Rodriguez jumped passed Donnell Williams (1994-98) and now is tied with Rimas Kaukenas (1996-000) for 28th all-time in Seton Hall scoring history with 1,292 points.
Delgado is now 31st all-time in Seton Hall scoring history at 1,249 points, surpassing John Ramsay (1972-75).

Up Next
Seton Hall will turn back the clock Tuesday night when it hosts Saint Peter's at historic Walsh Gymnasium at 7 p.m. FS1 will carry the nationally televised game with Brian Custer and Jim Spanarkel on the call. The dynamic duo of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will handle radio duties on AM970 The Answer, simulcast on the Pirate Sports Network.

Tickets to the Saint Peter's game can be purchased at the Seton Hall Athletics ticket office or by calling (973) 275-4255 on Monday or Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.