PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
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By Tyler Calvaruso
Seton Hall did not exactly fire on all cylinders offensively at Alumni Hall Wednesday night, but its defense was there to pick up the slack and power the Pirates to a key win over Providence.
Providence ran ice cold in the second half, shooting only 30% from the field and 18% from three as Seton Hall turned up the heat defensively. The Pirates took full advantage of Providence’s extended cold spell, outscoring the Friars 38-18 over the final 20 minutes and cruising to a 60-43 win despite not hitting a three until just over 13 minutes remained. 43 points is the fewest Seton Hall has ever allowed in a Big East game.
Seton Hall’s victory was not only crucial as it moves into the back end of its Big East schedule, but also Kevin Willard’s 200th win as Pirates head coach – putting him 12 wins behind P.J. Carlesimo for second on the program’s all-time wins list.
“It means more than anything, especially since I feel like we’ve been playing really hard and battling and battling,” Willard said. “The schedule has been tough. We’ve had some heartbreaks, so to come here, after losing a heartbreaker against Creighton and a tough, hard-fought game against Nova, it shows me a lot. I’m really proud of this group. I challenged them, I got after them for the last couple of days.”
Myles Cale shined throughout the night, guiding Seton Hall through an ugly first half and sparking its second half surge with relentless play on both ends of the floor. The senior finished with 19 points and forced numerous Providence turnovers by getting in the passing lanes and forcing his fair share of deflections.
“Myles Cale, with his length and heart as Myles Cale, got after it from the start,” Willard said of Cale and his defensive efforts on Providence’s leading scorer David Duke, who finished with only six points on 2-8 shooting. “It was kind of nice that Shavar [Reynolds] didn’t have to guard a Gillespie, guard a Zegarowski...he could just focus on running the team. And I thought Myles Cale, he was just all over David all night. To bottle up David Duke is saying something, and it just proves the kind of defender Myles Cale is.”
Sandro Mamukelashvili also turned in a stout performance, registering 20 points and providing one of his best defensive performances of the season in the paint, which Seton Hall dominated throughout the night, outscoring Providence 38-16. “
I’m really proud of Sandro, because I got on him the most,” Willard said.
Seton Hall got off to a putrid start offensively, going 0-13 from beyond the arc in the first half and trailing 25-22 at halftime. The Pirates turned the tide in the second half, though, ripping off a 12-2 run coming out of the locker room to jump out to a 34-27 lead. Providence ended Seton Hall’s run minutes later, but the Pirates’ lead eventually ballooned to double digits and proved to be insurmountable for a Friars squad that could not buy a bucket down the stretch.
“I was kind of excited about the way we played in the first half,” Willard said. “We gave up 25, I thought we got some good looks at the rim. I think the biggest thing was I told Ikey [Obiagu] he has to be a little more aggressive in ducking in and running the floor. We had to keep them occupied down there.“
The other thing was trying to get Sandro the ball a little bit more toward the free throw line with movement. Sandro was phenomenal against the zone. He made great plays, good passes and kept on getting to the rim. Once we were kind of able to get Ikey to duck in and take up some space, it opened everything up for us.”
Quick Thoughts
-Myles Cale has run hot and cold throughout his career, but he proved Wednesday night why Kevin Willard refers to him as his “safety blanket.” Seton Hall could have easily folded in the first half, but Cale brought the energy on every possession at both ends of the floor and set the tone for Seton Hall’s physicality on defense throughout the game. His jump shot might not be there some nights, but Cale illustrated how he can make positive contributions without filling it up in the scoring column (even thought he did finish with 19 points) against Providence.
-200 wins is quite the milestone for Willard. There was a time where many wondered if he would make it to 200 games with Seton Hall, never mind 200 wins as the program’s head coach. It was fitting that his team delivered his long-awaited milestone victory on the back of a dominant defensive performance.
-Saturday marks the beginning of a crucial series for Seton Hall as it travels to Gampel Pavilion to take on UConn. The Pirates are fortunate that the Huskies might be without star James Bouknight, but UConn poses a tough test, nonetheless. How does Kevin Willard feel about taking on the Huskies for the first time since their return to the Big East? Thanks to Gary Cohen prodding Willard’s feelings on the subject, this quote says it all:
“I think it’s unbelievable for the league. I’m a big fan of what they’ve done this year. But, you know, just because everybody gets a tax cut doesn’t mean it’s good for everybody.”
