Angel Delgado and Michael Nzei each post double-doubles; Delgado named MVP.
Dec. 5, 2015
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Piscataway, N.J. - Falling behind nine points was no issue for the men's basketball team today against Rutgers as the Pirates closed the first half on a 36-14 run, including a 13-1 run that gave them the lead for good in a 84-55 rout of the Scarlet Knights to win the Garden State Hardwood Classic Saturday at the RAC.
Sophomore Angel Delgado (Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic) secured the Joe Calabrese MVP Award after posting 14 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, his 12th career double-double. Sophomore Khadeen Carrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led The Hall with 18 points, and redshirt freshman Michael Nzei (Makurdi, Nigeria) posted his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs.
The win keeps the Garden State Hardwood Classic trophy in South Orange for another season as the Pirates improved to 6-2 this season, 1-1 in true road games and 38-29 all-time against Rutgers.
Head Coach Kevin Willard on Angel Delgado's MVP Performance
"I though Angel (Delgado) was the difference, probably in the whole game, just for the fact that he settled us down. We went to him, he made two really good moves, made easy buckets for us when we were stagnant on offense. I thought Mike (Nzei) played phenomenal. I thought he was active on defense, stepping up, obviously getting on the offensive glass helped. I thought that was the best Angel played defensively. I thought that was a big difference."
Turning Point
Trailing by nine points, 20-11, with 12:59 left in the first half, the Pirates turned on the offense and turned up the screws on defense, using a 13-1 run to claim the lead. Delgado powered the run with a put-back layup, one of his four offensive rebounds on the day. Then the Pirates kept out-muscling the Scarlet Knights on the glass as Nzei battled for a board and a put-back to give the Pirates a 26-23 edge.
After Rutgers re-claimed the lead for a moment, 27-26, with 7:16 to go, the Pirates used the three ball to pull away as Carrington buried a triple at 6:55 and sophomore Desi Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) knocked one down from the corner to give The Hall a five-point edge, 32-27.
Seton Hall continued to pour it on, making eight of its final 10 field goal attempts of the half, Nzei with three of them. And the Pirates defense limited Rutgers to 2-for-8 shooting with three turnovers in the final seven minutes to go into halftime up 47-34.
The second half was more of the same as the Pirates opened up on a 10-2 run, punctuated by back-to-back dunks from Rodriguez, the second an alley oop from Carrington that made it a 57-36 rout. The Pirates went on to the 29-point victory, holding the Scarlet Knights to 22.6 percent shooting in the second half. In fact, after allowing Rutgers to make eight of its first 10 shots, the Pirates clamped down, only giving up 12 field goals on 50 attempts the rest of the game (24 percent).
Inside the Numbers
News & Notes
Up Next
Seton Hall will head home for the next four games, beginning Thursday against Troy at Prudential Center at 8 p.m. FS1 will carry the national television broadcast, and Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast through the Pirate Sports Network on SHUPirates.com. Tickets to the contest can be purchased through Ticketmaster or the Seton Hall Athletics tickets office by calling (973) 275-HALL.
Pirate Men's Basketball Home
http://www.shupirates.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/120515aaa.html
Dec. 5, 2015
Box Score | USATSI Photo Gallery
Box Score (PDF)
Piscataway, N.J. - Falling behind nine points was no issue for the men's basketball team today against Rutgers as the Pirates closed the first half on a 36-14 run, including a 13-1 run that gave them the lead for good in a 84-55 rout of the Scarlet Knights to win the Garden State Hardwood Classic Saturday at the RAC.
Sophomore Angel Delgado (Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic) secured the Joe Calabrese MVP Award after posting 14 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, his 12th career double-double. Sophomore Khadeen Carrington (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led The Hall with 18 points, and redshirt freshman Michael Nzei (Makurdi, Nigeria) posted his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs.
The win keeps the Garden State Hardwood Classic trophy in South Orange for another season as the Pirates improved to 6-2 this season, 1-1 in true road games and 38-29 all-time against Rutgers.
Head Coach Kevin Willard on Angel Delgado's MVP Performance
"I though Angel (Delgado) was the difference, probably in the whole game, just for the fact that he settled us down. We went to him, he made two really good moves, made easy buckets for us when we were stagnant on offense. I thought Mike (Nzei) played phenomenal. I thought he was active on defense, stepping up, obviously getting on the offensive glass helped. I thought that was the best Angel played defensively. I thought that was a big difference."
Turning Point
Trailing by nine points, 20-11, with 12:59 left in the first half, the Pirates turned on the offense and turned up the screws on defense, using a 13-1 run to claim the lead. Delgado powered the run with a put-back layup, one of his four offensive rebounds on the day. Then the Pirates kept out-muscling the Scarlet Knights on the glass as Nzei battled for a board and a put-back to give the Pirates a 26-23 edge.
After Rutgers re-claimed the lead for a moment, 27-26, with 7:16 to go, the Pirates used the three ball to pull away as Carrington buried a triple at 6:55 and sophomore Desi Rodriguez (Bronx, N.Y.) knocked one down from the corner to give The Hall a five-point edge, 32-27.
Seton Hall continued to pour it on, making eight of its final 10 field goal attempts of the half, Nzei with three of them. And the Pirates defense limited Rutgers to 2-for-8 shooting with three turnovers in the final seven minutes to go into halftime up 47-34.
The second half was more of the same as the Pirates opened up on a 10-2 run, punctuated by back-to-back dunks from Rodriguez, the second an alley oop from Carrington that made it a 57-36 rout. The Pirates went on to the 29-point victory, holding the Scarlet Knights to 22.6 percent shooting in the second half. In fact, after allowing Rutgers to make eight of its first 10 shots, the Pirates clamped down, only giving up 12 field goals on 50 attempts the rest of the game (24 percent).
Inside the Numbers
- Seton Hall's offense had a season-high 31 field goals made and shot 47 percent in the process. The Pirates made seven of 17 three-point attempts and went 15-for-23 at the free throw line.
- The Pirates again dominated the paint, outscoring Rutgers down low 44-20. It's the fourth time this season they have scored 40 or more in the paint.
- The Pirates also were tremendous on the glass, out-rebounding Rutgers 53-32 and grabbing 18 offensive rebounds that led to 15 second chance points. The 53 rebounds and the +21 rebounding margin are both season highs.
- The Hall's defense cracked down on the Scarlet Knights once it began its offensive run. After allowing Rutgers to make eight of its first 10 field goal attempts, the Pirates held RU to 12-for-50 shooting (24 percent) the rest of the contest.
- Delgado posted his second double-double of the season and 12th of his career with his 14 points and 13 rebounds. He was 6-for-9 from the field. He has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in each of the last four games.
- Nzei's first career double-double set career highs in points (13) and boards. He led everyone with five offensive rebounds. He was 6-for-8 from the field is now 21-for-26 on the season.
- Carrington's 18 points made him the leader in scoring for the second straight game. He is averaging 19.7 points over the last three games.
- Sophomore Isaiah Whitehead (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished with 13 points, four assists and three steals.
- Sophomores continue to dominate for the Pirates as they accounted for 53 of the team's 84 points.
- Rutgers was led by Mike Williams, who had 16 points in the game. He and Carrington both attended Bishop Laughlin High School in Brooklyn.
News & Notes
- Seton Hall has claimed the second Garden State Hardwood Classic, which was started in 2014 as a way to accentuate the colorful rivalry between New Jersey's top two basketball schools. The trophy was handcrafted from wood salvaged from the Asbury Park boardwalk in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
- Delgado was named the Joe Calabrese MVP, succeeding Whitehead, who was last year's award winner.
- Seton Hall and Rutgers are contracted to play a home-and-home series through 2020. The two teams will return to Prudential Center next season.
- Seton Hall now leads the all-time series 38-29 and has won nine of the last 14 matches. The Pirates are 17-16 all-time on a Rutgers home court.
- With a 27-point win last season and a 29-point win this season, Seton Hall has the two largest back-to-back wins in the series vs. Rutgers since beating the Scarlet Knights by 20 in 1987 and 26 in 1988. Coming into the game, 18 of the previous 21 meeting had been decided by six points or less or had gone into overtime.
- Head coach Kevin Willard has now led the Pirates to victory at The RAC four out of the five times he's brought the team to Piscataway.
- The comeback from a nine-point deficit is the team's largest since overcoming a 14-point deficit to Creighton last February.
Up Next
Seton Hall will head home for the next four games, beginning Thursday against Troy at Prudential Center at 8 p.m. FS1 will carry the national television broadcast, and Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the radio call on AM970 The Answer, simulcast through the Pirate Sports Network on SHUPirates.com. Tickets to the contest can be purchased through Ticketmaster or the Seton Hall Athletics tickets office by calling (973) 275-HALL.
Pirate Men's Basketball Home
http://www.shupirates.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/120515aaa.html
