Seton Hall University
11-8,4-4Big East
DePaul
8-10,2-5Big East
Ndefo Powers Pirates To Victory At DePaul, 71-67
1/14/2023 3:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Chicago, Ill. - Graduate student KC Ndefo (Elmont, N.Y.) posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds and the Seton Hall men's basketball team played lockdown defense in the second half as the Pirates claimed a 71-67 road win at DePaul on Saturday afternoon.
The Pirates (11-8, 4-4 BIG EAST) have now won three straight and four of its last five games to get back to .500 in league play. Senior Al-Amir Dawes (Newark, N.J.) collected 15 points and junior Femi Odukale (Brooklyn, N.Y.) came up with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.
How It Happened
It was a neck-and-neck first half as both teams shot over 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from three-point range. DePaul led by two, 7-5, three minutes into the contest when the Pirates used a 12-3 run to jump out in front by seven, 17-10, with 14:10 to go in the half.
Later, junior Kadary Richmond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) found senior Tyrese Samuel (Montreal, Quebec) on the fastbreak and he dunked it home to make it 37-36 Pirates but DePaul answered on the other end with a three-pointer to take the lead back, 39-37, with under two minutes to go before halftime. A layup by Richmond knotted the score up at 39-39 and that would end up being the tally at the break in a hot shooting first half.
DePaul came out of the locker room strong with a 7-1 spurt that made it 46-40 as Seton Hall called a timeout. The Pirates responded with a 14-4 run that was capped off by a Dre Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) layup in the lane, making it 54-48 Seton Hall with 12:23 to go.
On the defensive end of the floor, The Hall held DePaul to only one field goal from 16:38 in the second half to the 6:53 mark. The Blue Demons had one more run in the them following an Odukale free throw that gave the Pirates a five-point lead with 1:39 to play. Despite giving up two three-point baskets, Seton Hall converted on five of six free throw attempts and Ndefo came up with a held ball with 17 seconds left that gave the Pirates an extra possession and helped seal the victory.
Inside The Numbers
- Seton Hall shot 46 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range and DePaul shot at a 45 percent clip from the floor and 34 percent from beyond the arc.
- The Pirates went 15-of-23 from the stripe and the Blue Demons shot 14-of-16.
- There were 11 lead changes and 11 ties int he game.
- The Pirates finished plus-10 on the boards and won the offensive rebounding battle, 15-7.
- Seton Hall allowed 39 first half points but held DePaul to 28 points, 28 percent shooting and only eight made field goals after halftime.
- The Pirates finished plus-20 on the points in the paint, 40-20.
- Richmond had eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
- Samuel finished with 12 points, two blocks and two steals.
News & Notes
- Seton Hall improves to 22-9 all-time against DePaul and 9-7 against the Blue Demons as the road team.
- The Pirates improve to 11-1 this season when holding teams to under 70 points.
- The Pirates are now 143-22 since 2015-16 when its lead gets to seven points.
- Ndefo registers his ninth career double-double and his first as a Pirate.
- Samuel has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games and 12 times this season.
Up Next
Seton Hall will return home for back-to-back BIG EAST games at Prudential Center, starting with UConn on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday will be a BLUE OUT. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a BLUE OUT t-shirt. The first 1,000 students in attendance will receive a BLUE rally towel, courtesy of Delta Dental.
Fans can listen to the action on the Seton Hall Basketball Radio Network with Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin that can be heard on the SHU Pirates mobile app, the Varsity network and SiriusXM.
