PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
By Colin Rajala
Just three days removed from a victory in a “must-win” matchup with St. John’s, Seton Hall looked rudderless as they were handily defeated by the Creighton Blue Jays 83-61 Tuesday evening at the
CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb.
With the win, Creighton notched its third consecutive conference victory to raise its Big East record to 3-1, good enough for a tie for fourth place with #4 nationally ranked UConn, who they will square off with on Saturday in Storrs, Conn. The Pirates fell to 1-4 in Big East play with the loss, leaving them in ninth place in the conference.
Creighton controlled almost all facets of the game, in fact, the Blue Jays starting five outscored the Pirates on their own 66-61. Creighton was led by junior center Ryan Kalkbrenner’s 17 point, eight rebound and six block performance, while sophomore guards Trey Alexander and Ryan Nembhard put up 15 points and six assists and 14 points and five assists, respectively. Sophomore forward Arthur Kaluma chipped in with his first double-double on the season – 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Seton Hall was paced by junior guard Femi Odukale, who scored 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field, including 2/2 from long distance, the highest scoring output of his early tenure after transferring in
from Pittsburgh. The only other Pirate in double figures was senior forward Tray Jackson with 11, all of which were accrued in the second half when the game was firmly out of reach.
The matchup was fairly even in the first seven minutes of play, knotted up at 10-10, but Creighton, looking to avenge getting swept in last season’s series, did just that with a 12-0 run over the ensuing four minutes, the majority of which occurred after junior guard Kadary Richmond went to the bench with two early fouls.
The 12-0 run featured three pointers from Alexander and freshman forward Mason Miller, assisted by Nembhard and senior guard Baylor Scheierman, respectively, as well as three dunks from Kalkbrenner,
two of which were assisted by Scheierman. Odukale banked in a jump shot to stop the run and more than four minute scoring drought.
Creighton extended their lead to 27-12 as part of a larger 17-2 run to put the game largely out of reach on a Kalkbrenner hook shot followed up wby another Miller three pointer after a Seton Hall turnover. All
told, Seton Hall committed five turnovers, including two offensive fouls, as Creighton pulled away with the five and a half minute run.
The closest Seton Hall would get the rest of the game was 31-18 with just over five minutes left in the first half when senior forward Tyrese Samuel hit a jump shot off the entry pass from graduate guard Jamir Harris. From there Creighton closed the half on a 12-4 run, which was capped by a Nembhard scoop layup high off the glass over the outstretched arms of Samuel with just two ticks remaining on the clock.
Creighton shot 15-32 (46.9%) from the field, including 8-15 (53.3%) from three in the first half, assisting on 12 of the field goals. The Blue Jays also recorded 16 points off of nine turnovers from the Pirates, who shot a paltry 9-27 (33.3%) from the field and 1-6 (16.7%) from long range.
Kalkbrenner did much of his work in the first half with 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks, while Nembhard had 10 of the team’s final 12 points to end the half.
Seton Hall opened the second stanza with a bucket from Richmond who drove the lane and hit a floater over Kalkbrenner, but from there it was all Creighton as they proceeded to go on a 15-2 run, capped by
an Alexander jumper, to put the game out of reach.
Seton Hall will look to get back on track Saturday evening at the Prudential Center, where they will have a winnable matchup against the Butler Bulldogs, who are currently tied for seventh in conference play
with a 1-3 record.
