PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
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By Zack Cziryak
The Seton Hall Pirates rode a second half run to an absolute lambasting of the lowly DePaul Blue Demons Tuesday night in the Windy City.
The Pirates (14-8, 7-4) jumped out to a 15-2 start to the game and maintained a 13-point lead heading into halftime before 9-11 shooting to begin the second half helped them cruise to 72-39 victory over DePaul (3-18, 0-10) in a sparsely attended Wintrust Arena.
Dre Davis notched his first career double-double, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks while freshman Isaiah Coleman put up 15 points and Jaden Bediako rounded out the Hall’s double-figure scorers with 12 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 blocks of his own.
Kadary Richmond, who missed the Pirates’ last two games due to general soreness, returned off the bench in the road win, jumpstarting a 9-0 run and the Hall’s offense by driving and finishing with his left hand shortly after entering following the under 16-minute timeout. He would finish the game with 6 points on 3-5 shooting, adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
A shift to zone defense from DePaul gave the Pirates some issues, helping to force 9 first-half turnovers, and allowed the Blue Demons to keep the lead to 10 into the first half at 25-15 before an old fashioned 3-point play in transition and ensuing 3-pointer from Coleman extended the lead to 16.
DePaul, down two players including leading scorer Chico Carter Jr., were led by 11 points from Da’ Sean Nelson.
The Hall would tighten play up from the start of the second half, coming out of the intermission on a 12-2 run that essentially put the game away before the frame’s under 16-minute timeout.
In what has been a recipe for success, the Pirates scored the victory by dominating the boards and playing stingy defense. The Hall held a 46-30 rebounding advantage, including 10-7 in offensive rebounds, forced 13 steals and shot 50.8% from the floor on 30-59 shooting while DePaul shot 22%, including 15% from beyond the arc. The 39 points were an all-time low allowed to a Big East opponent.
The win moves Seton Hall to 7-4 in the Big East and sole possession of fourth place in a league where the top five finishers receive a first round bye in the Big East Tournament.
The Pirates will now have a bye week to rest up, next tipping off Wednesday Feb. 7 in a return matchup against Georgetown at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
