For immediate release – Dec. 19, 2015
Newark, N.J. - Down as many as 13 in the first half, the Seton Hall men's baketball team completed a spirited comeback behind a career-high 18 points from sophomore Desi Rodriguez(Bronx, N.Y.) to take down the Wichita State Shockers, 80-76, in overtime on Saturday at Prudential Center.
Rodriguez scored all 18 of his points after halftime as The Hall improved to 9-2 overall before a raucous crowd at The Rock and extended its home non-conference winning streak to 14 with what could stand as a signature victory come March. Isaiah Whitehead(Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed 17 points, five rebounds and a career-high four blocks in a well-rounded effort while Angel Delgado(Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic)logged his fourth consecutive double-double (14 pts, 11 reb) - his seventh straight game with at least 10 boards - in the win.Khadeen Carrington(Brooklyn, N.Y.)finished with 11 points despitepicking up his fourth foul with 14:57 to go in the second half. Seton Hall scored 11 of its 13 points in the extra period from the free-throw line and held Wichita State (5-5), a preseason AP top-10 team, to 11-of-35 (.314) from the field in the second half and overtime combined to help erase the early deficit on a day in which the program debuted throwback Under Armour uniforms that honor the legendary squads of the late 1980's and early 1990's.
The Shockers took an eight-point edge into the intermission and extended the advantage to 49-38 on a Fred VanVleet triple with 13:30 remaining in regulation.
The Hall would not go quietly however as the Pirates responded by scoring 17 of the next 22 points – a stretch that included a run of nine consecutive points that was capped by aDerrick Gordon(Plainfield, N.J.)slam that gave SHU its first lead since the opening moments at 55-54.
WSU’s Conner Frankamp answered with eight points in a row, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers to put the Shockers back on top, 62-55 inside the final five minutes of the second half.
Both Rodriguez and Whitehead found the mark on key triples down the stretch and a late layup from Gordon gave Seton Hall another one-point lead at 65-64 with 1:32 on the clock. Wichita State pulled level from the foul line but sophomoreIsmael Sanogo(Newark, N.J.)–a 57.1 percent free-throw shooter entering the day – tipped the scales back in SHU’s favor by sinking two freebies to make it 67-65 with 34 seconds to go.
VanVleet coolly converted on two from the line on the other end though and potential game-winners for each team missed the mark in the final seconds leading into overtime.
The fourth VanVleet trifecta of the afternoon gave the Shockers the upper hand early in the bonus period but Seton Hall moved ahead for good by scoring eight-straight points while keeping WSU off the board for the next three minutes.
Head CoachKevin Willardon moving forward after the win:
“We have a long way to go. The most I’m going to take out of this is in the past we’ve been knocked down and we’ve run for the hills. [Wichita State] came out and knocks us down and for the first time what I saw was guys taking steps towards the fight. That’s as important as anything. Even if we lost this game that would have been a really big step for us because that hasn’t always happened. It’s a good step for this group, but we have a long way to go…I will make sure the players have an understanding that we have a long way to go.”
On Desi Rodriguezin the second half:
“Desi shot that first air ball early and took himself out of the game a bit. At halftime, I just said, go do what you do really well – go run down the floor and dunk on somebody. He got a layup and that got him going.”
On the environment at The Rock:
“[The players] really appreciated the students coming out in full force. They recognize that and they feed off that. It was a good environment and I really have to thank the students for sticking around and coming out when most of our finals are done.”
Turning Point
After Fred VanVleet found the mark from 3-point range on the Shockers’ first possession of overtime, the Pirates forced three turnovers and two missed shots over their next five trips to the defensive end, out-scoring the Wichita State, 8-to-0, during the stretch to move ahead for good.
Six of the eight points during the run came from the free throw line as did 11 of the Pirates’ 13 points in the final five minutes.
Inside the Numbers
Up Next
The Hall will wrap up a four-game homestand as well as non-conference play when USF visits Prudential Center on Tuesday, December 22. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. with a live national broadcast set for FS2 and available online or through mobile devices on FOX Sports GO. Tickets remain available and can be purchased online throughTicketmasteror by calling the Seton Hall Athletics Ticket Office at 973-275-HALL (4255)
Newark, N.J. - Down as many as 13 in the first half, the Seton Hall men's baketball team completed a spirited comeback behind a career-high 18 points from sophomore Desi Rodriguez(Bronx, N.Y.) to take down the Wichita State Shockers, 80-76, in overtime on Saturday at Prudential Center.
Rodriguez scored all 18 of his points after halftime as The Hall improved to 9-2 overall before a raucous crowd at The Rock and extended its home non-conference winning streak to 14 with what could stand as a signature victory come March. Isaiah Whitehead(Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed 17 points, five rebounds and a career-high four blocks in a well-rounded effort while Angel Delgado(Bajos De Haina, Dominican Republic)logged his fourth consecutive double-double (14 pts, 11 reb) - his seventh straight game with at least 10 boards - in the win.Khadeen Carrington(Brooklyn, N.Y.)finished with 11 points despitepicking up his fourth foul with 14:57 to go in the second half. Seton Hall scored 11 of its 13 points in the extra period from the free-throw line and held Wichita State (5-5), a preseason AP top-10 team, to 11-of-35 (.314) from the field in the second half and overtime combined to help erase the early deficit on a day in which the program debuted throwback Under Armour uniforms that honor the legendary squads of the late 1980's and early 1990's.
The Shockers took an eight-point edge into the intermission and extended the advantage to 49-38 on a Fred VanVleet triple with 13:30 remaining in regulation.
The Hall would not go quietly however as the Pirates responded by scoring 17 of the next 22 points – a stretch that included a run of nine consecutive points that was capped by aDerrick Gordon(Plainfield, N.J.)slam that gave SHU its first lead since the opening moments at 55-54.
WSU’s Conner Frankamp answered with eight points in a row, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers to put the Shockers back on top, 62-55 inside the final five minutes of the second half.
Both Rodriguez and Whitehead found the mark on key triples down the stretch and a late layup from Gordon gave Seton Hall another one-point lead at 65-64 with 1:32 on the clock. Wichita State pulled level from the foul line but sophomoreIsmael Sanogo(Newark, N.J.)–a 57.1 percent free-throw shooter entering the day – tipped the scales back in SHU’s favor by sinking two freebies to make it 67-65 with 34 seconds to go.
VanVleet coolly converted on two from the line on the other end though and potential game-winners for each team missed the mark in the final seconds leading into overtime.
The fourth VanVleet trifecta of the afternoon gave the Shockers the upper hand early in the bonus period but Seton Hall moved ahead for good by scoring eight-straight points while keeping WSU off the board for the next three minutes.
Head CoachKevin Willardon moving forward after the win:
“We have a long way to go. The most I’m going to take out of this is in the past we’ve been knocked down and we’ve run for the hills. [Wichita State] came out and knocks us down and for the first time what I saw was guys taking steps towards the fight. That’s as important as anything. Even if we lost this game that would have been a really big step for us because that hasn’t always happened. It’s a good step for this group, but we have a long way to go…I will make sure the players have an understanding that we have a long way to go.”
On Desi Rodriguezin the second half:
“Desi shot that first air ball early and took himself out of the game a bit. At halftime, I just said, go do what you do really well – go run down the floor and dunk on somebody. He got a layup and that got him going.”
On the environment at The Rock:
“[The players] really appreciated the students coming out in full force. They recognize that and they feed off that. It was a good environment and I really have to thank the students for sticking around and coming out when most of our finals are done.”
Turning Point
After Fred VanVleet found the mark from 3-point range on the Shockers’ first possession of overtime, the Pirates forced three turnovers and two missed shots over their next five trips to the defensive end, out-scoring the Wichita State, 8-to-0, during the stretch to move ahead for good.
Six of the eight points during the run came from the free throw line as did 11 of the Pirates’ 13 points in the final five minutes.
Inside the Numbers
- Rodriguez was 5-of-7 from the field and knocked down 7-of-9 FT attempts following the break after going 0-for-2 in the first half. It is the second time this season that he has matched a career-high with 18 points with the other coming in a recent home win over Troy (December 10)
- Whitehead’s 17 points mark the ninth time he has scored in double-digits this season and his seventh 15+-point effort of the year. In two games against a vaunted Wichita State backcourt over the last two seasons, Whitehead totaled 40 points (game-high 23 pts at WSU as a freshman)
- Carrington has scored in double-figures a team-best 10 times this season and now has 10 or more points in nine consecutive appearances
- Delgadohas recorded a double-double in each outing of a current Seton Hall four-game winning streak and is the first Pirate with a streak of at least four double-doubles in-a-row since Herb Pope in 2011-12
- Sanogo returned to the starting lineup and made a tremendous impact on both ends of the floor; posting five points, nine boards and three steals in 38 minutes. Sanogo started the first seven games of the season before coming off the bench in the last two (DNP at Rutgers, Dec. 5)
- Despite a 11-of-19 (.579) total from the stripe this season, Sanogo is now a perfect 6-of-6 from the line in the final five minutes of regulation
- Gordon played a season-high 34 minutes off the bench and posted eight points to go with three steals
- The Hall dominated down low yet again, out-scoring the Shockers, 36-to-16, in the paint. The Pirates have scored at least 30 points in the paint in nine of 11 games this season, including seven-straight
- The Pirates forced the Shockers into a season-high 21 turnovers. After being out-scored, 14-to-4, in points off turnovers during the first half, The Hall forced 15 WSU giveaways in the second half and overtime
- Seton Hall shot 26-of-35 (.743) from the free throw line for the game, marking a new season-high in points from the stripe. Wichita State earned only 14 FT attempts, by comparison, sinking 10
- The Pirates have now scored three non-conference victories over RPI Top-100 opponents in Wichita State (50), Georgia (66) and Ole Miss (95). The team’s two losses have also come by single digits against teams inside the current RPI Top-100 (at George Washington (9), vs. Long Beach State (84).
- The comeback marked the second time this season that the Pirates have rallied from a deficit of nine or more with the first coming in an 84-55 win at Rutgers in the second Annual Garden State Hardwood Classic
- The Pirates are now 34-4 (.894) in non-conference home games under Willard and 54-8 (.870) against non-BIG EAST foes at The Rock since the arena opened in 2007-08
- The talented WSU backcourt of Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker shot a combined 11-of-31 (.354) from the field and were forced into 11 total turnovers
- The win is the first for The Hall in three all-time meetings with the Shockers and its second this season when trailing at halftime
- A victory on Tuesday against USF (6:30 p.m., FS2) would send The Hall into conference play unbeaten at home for the fourth time in the last five years
Up Next
The Hall will wrap up a four-game homestand as well as non-conference play when USF visits Prudential Center on Tuesday, December 22. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. with a live national broadcast set for FS2 and available online or through mobile devices on FOX Sports GO. Tickets remain available and can be purchased online throughTicketmasteror by calling the Seton Hall Athletics Ticket Office at 973-275-HALL (4255)
