Seton Hall University
4-1,0-0Big East
California
2-4,0-0Pac-12
Gritty Performance Propels No. 21 Pirates To Win Over Cal, 62-59
11/24/2021 9:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Hall holds its fourth opponent to 65 points or less on the season
Fort Myers, Fla. - A gritty second-half performance propelled the 21st-ranked Seton Hall men's basketball team to a 62-59 win and a third-place finish in the Beach Division of the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off, Wednesday evening at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
Four players scored in double figures for the Pirates (4-1) led by senior guard Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) who dropped 21 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line. Sophomore Kadary Richmond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had an efficient night and made some key shots down the stretch as he dropped 16 points on 4-fo-7 shooting from the field.
How It Happened
In the second half, the Pirates trailed 56-51 at the under-four media timeout when Rhoden made one of two free throws that made it a four-point game. Seton Hall then forced a turnover on the defensive end, and graduate student Bryce Aiken (Randolph, N.J.) was fouled on the ensuing possession. He calmly made both free throws that cut the deficit to two, 56-54.
Aiken was able to corral the defensive rebound following a Cal miss, took it up the floor and hit the go-ahead three-pointer, 57-56, with 2:33 to play. After the Golden Bears sank two free throws to take the lead with 2:04 to go, Richmond put the Pirates up one on a layup, 59-58, on the game's next play with 1:44 left.
A free throw by graduate student Alexis Yetna (Paris, France) gave The Hall the lead for good, 60-59, with 1:05 to play as the Golden Bears missed a three-pointer at the other end that was rebounded by Rhoden, who was fouled and made both free throws that sealed the Pirates' 62-59 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- The Pirates improved offensively in the second half, shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three.
- The Pirates attempted a season-high 30 free throws and made 24 of them (80 percent).
- Despite shooting 26.9 percent from the floor and allowing Cal to shoot 45.8 percent from the floor in the first half, the Pirates made 12 of their 15 free throws that helped put them in front by two at halftime.
- The Pirates scored 12 points off of 14 Cal turnovers.
- Seton Hall had nine second chance points to the Golden Bears' one and had the advantage in bench points, 14-7.
News & Notes
- The Pirates are now 98-17 (.852) since 2016-17 when attempting more free throws than their opponent.
- The Hall is also now 117-18 (.867) since the start of the 2015-16 season when leading by seven points or more at any juncture of the game.
- Cal is the Pirates' third opponent this season to score 65 points or less.
- Rhoden has scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games and has 862 points for his career.
- Graduate student Ike Obiagu (Abuja, Nigeria) is now tied with former teammate Romaro Gill on the program's career blocks list with 129.
- The Pirates are now 32-14 under head coach Kevin Willard in in-season tournaments.
- Willard now has 208 career wins at Seton Hall and is four victories away from tying P.J. Carlesimo for second on the program's all-time wins list.
Up Next
The Pirates return to the Prudential Center for the first time in two weeks on Nov. 28 when they take on Bethune-Cookman at 12 p.m. on FS1 and AM970 The Answer. Tickets for the game are available on Ticketmaster by visiting SetonHallTix.com/SHUvsBC.
