By Colin Rajala
Seton Hall (3-3) entered the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic semifinal as the number one scoring defense in the county, allowing just 50.6 points per game, but that would not last long for the vaunted Pirates defense as they were unable to slow down Vanderbilt (6-0), who advanced to the championship game against Drake with a 76-60 victory Friday evening.
Vanderbilt’s offense proved to be too explosive and too much to handle for Seton Hall as the Commodores saw ten players score, including three in double figures, as they shot 51.9% from the field (28/54), including ten three-pointers, while assisting on half of their field goals.
The offensive masterclass for Vanderbilt did not end there as it also found its way into their defensive approach, scoring 19 points off of turnovers, outscoring Seton Hall 10 to three on the fast break and winning the battle of points in the paint 32 to 30 after holding the 18 to six advantage in the paint in the first half.
Vanderbilt’s Tyler Nickel led all scorers with 24 points, tying his career high on 8/16 shooting from the field and 6/13 from long range, while Devin McGlockton recorded 13 points and four rebounds and Jason Edwards tallied 10 points.
Leading Seton Hall was guard/wing Isaiah Coleman, who tied a career high with 20 points, including 4/7 from three, to go along with four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Coleman was the lone Pirate in double figures as Seton Hall was paced by forward Scotty Middleton’s eight points followed by six points apiece from guard Dylan Addae-Wusu and forward Prince Aligbe.
Seton Hall took its first lead less than eight minutes into the game, 10-8, when Coleman drained a corner three off the assist from Yacine Toumi. Coleman connected on another three, this time from the wing, less than a minute later for his ninth straight point, which helped Seton Hall regain the lead 13-11, unfortunately, it would be the last lead they held all game.
With the game tied at 15 with more than nine minutes remaining in the opening half, the Commodores held Seton Hall scoreless for more than four minutes and reeled off an 11-0 run capped by a three from Nickel for the 26-15 advantage with just over five minutes to go.
Vanderbilt took its largest lead of the opening half, 38-23, on a dunk from McGlockton with 40 seconds remaining, but Seton Hall would close on a 5-0 run thanks to AJ Hoggard fouling Addae-Wuse on a three-quarter court heave before time expired.
The Pirates were lucky to be down just ten at halftime as they shot 3/17 from two-point range, committed eight turnovers to just six assists and were outrebounded 21 to 18.
Seton Hall tried to keep Vanderbilt at arms distance in the second half, drawing the game to within eight in the early minutes, but the Commodores connected on 11 of their first 14 field goals to build its lead to 68-47 with less than ten minutes to go in the game.
Vanderbilt would grow the lead to its largest of the game and the largest deficit in Seton Hall’s season, 74-52, on a free throw from McGlockton with four minutes remaining before Aligbe scored all six of points and Coleman converted a layup, assisted by guard Chaunce Jenkins, to close the final score to 76-60.
Thoughts:
After the first bucket of the game, Coleman made a nice drive to the paint and kicked it out for Addae-Wusu, who converted the triple, I wrote that I hoped it would be a sign of things to come, but I didn’t expect that would be the case. I was a bit surprised to see Coleman look so impressive and Addae-Wusu so lackluster after that. With that said, happy to see Coleman rounding into form and showing the improvement in his game.
I thought Vanderbilt out toughed SHU early on as they imposed their physicality on the blocks and came away with deflections and loose balls.
Typical Seton Hall moment: Vanderbilt’s Jaylen Carey picks up a technical less than five minutes into the game, SHU already down 8-3, and Jenkins is only able to convert 1/2 free throws. C'est la vie.
Okorafor moves pretty smooth for a man his size, looking forward to more of him as he round back into form/shape.
Chris Manon picked Vanderbilt over Seton Hall out of the transfer portal this offseason and it sure looks like we could use some of his decision making on offense. His stat line in 13 minutes off the bench: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists to 1 turnover and 1 steal
Things you don’t love to see - Toumi with another wild off-balance layup, which is becoming an every game occurrence at this point.
The announcers, who have done a solid job through two games, gave a well-deserved shout out to the traveling Seton Hall fans, who deserve their props and more for having this team’s back when not many will.
Addae-Wusu made a weak pass that was intercepted and raced down the court for a pick-six turning a 17-15 point game to a 19-15 game with 8:30 remaining, which ignited a Vanderbilt run for a 26-15 lead. Dylan was promptly subbed out for the miscue, which should happen every time a player commits a careless act the rest of the season since they don’t value possessions or the ball still.
Is Seton Hall the only team in the country that is unable to convert a two on one fast break at this point? Dual and Tubek were unable to connect when Vandy was going on their run and the rest is history.
How bad was the offense? 1-14 (7%) from the field and 4-7 (57%) from three with seven turnovers in less than 15 minutes of play in the first half. The offense improved in the second half, but the defense regressed and it was all Vandy from there.
Middleton couldn’t buy a bucket from the field initially, but to his credit he came back immediately from a miss, got a deflection and steal before converting the and1 layup and making the free throw. We need more of that tenacity from Scotty, who looks much better defensively than offensively, which wasn’t quite what we all expected.
The opening possession of the second half gave me false hope as Addae-Wusu dished to a cutting Coleman for the easiest two points the Pirates scored all game. Wish the team would make more cuts to the hoop and look for each other when they do so in the future because they are athletic.
I would have been livid if I was Shaheen when Vandy pushed after a Seton Hall make to convert an easy reverse layup to extend the lead 44-32 less than three minutes into the second half.
I thought Felton looked serviceable in his eight minutes of play to end the second half, which resulted in 6 points (2/6 from the field) and 2 rebounds (1 offensive). I think Felton will have a real opportunity to be a solid player for this team next year.
Hard to win when Chaunce Jenkins is held to three points. Scouting report is out on him now, how will he and Sha adjust?
Seton Hall (3-3) entered the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic semifinal as the number one scoring defense in the county, allowing just 50.6 points per game, but that would not last long for the vaunted Pirates defense as they were unable to slow down Vanderbilt (6-0), who advanced to the championship game against Drake with a 76-60 victory Friday evening.
Vanderbilt’s offense proved to be too explosive and too much to handle for Seton Hall as the Commodores saw ten players score, including three in double figures, as they shot 51.9% from the field (28/54), including ten three-pointers, while assisting on half of their field goals.
The offensive masterclass for Vanderbilt did not end there as it also found its way into their defensive approach, scoring 19 points off of turnovers, outscoring Seton Hall 10 to three on the fast break and winning the battle of points in the paint 32 to 30 after holding the 18 to six advantage in the paint in the first half.
Vanderbilt’s Tyler Nickel led all scorers with 24 points, tying his career high on 8/16 shooting from the field and 6/13 from long range, while Devin McGlockton recorded 13 points and four rebounds and Jason Edwards tallied 10 points.
Leading Seton Hall was guard/wing Isaiah Coleman, who tied a career high with 20 points, including 4/7 from three, to go along with four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Coleman was the lone Pirate in double figures as Seton Hall was paced by forward Scotty Middleton’s eight points followed by six points apiece from guard Dylan Addae-Wusu and forward Prince Aligbe.
Seton Hall took its first lead less than eight minutes into the game, 10-8, when Coleman drained a corner three off the assist from Yacine Toumi. Coleman connected on another three, this time from the wing, less than a minute later for his ninth straight point, which helped Seton Hall regain the lead 13-11, unfortunately, it would be the last lead they held all game.
With the game tied at 15 with more than nine minutes remaining in the opening half, the Commodores held Seton Hall scoreless for more than four minutes and reeled off an 11-0 run capped by a three from Nickel for the 26-15 advantage with just over five minutes to go.
Vanderbilt took its largest lead of the opening half, 38-23, on a dunk from McGlockton with 40 seconds remaining, but Seton Hall would close on a 5-0 run thanks to AJ Hoggard fouling Addae-Wuse on a three-quarter court heave before time expired.
The Pirates were lucky to be down just ten at halftime as they shot 3/17 from two-point range, committed eight turnovers to just six assists and were outrebounded 21 to 18.
Seton Hall tried to keep Vanderbilt at arms distance in the second half, drawing the game to within eight in the early minutes, but the Commodores connected on 11 of their first 14 field goals to build its lead to 68-47 with less than ten minutes to go in the game.
Vanderbilt would grow the lead to its largest of the game and the largest deficit in Seton Hall’s season, 74-52, on a free throw from McGlockton with four minutes remaining before Aligbe scored all six of points and Coleman converted a layup, assisted by guard Chaunce Jenkins, to close the final score to 76-60.
Thoughts:
After the first bucket of the game, Coleman made a nice drive to the paint and kicked it out for Addae-Wusu, who converted the triple, I wrote that I hoped it would be a sign of things to come, but I didn’t expect that would be the case. I was a bit surprised to see Coleman look so impressive and Addae-Wusu so lackluster after that. With that said, happy to see Coleman rounding into form and showing the improvement in his game.
I thought Vanderbilt out toughed SHU early on as they imposed their physicality on the blocks and came away with deflections and loose balls.
Typical Seton Hall moment: Vanderbilt’s Jaylen Carey picks up a technical less than five minutes into the game, SHU already down 8-3, and Jenkins is only able to convert 1/2 free throws. C'est la vie.
Okorafor moves pretty smooth for a man his size, looking forward to more of him as he round back into form/shape.
Chris Manon picked Vanderbilt over Seton Hall out of the transfer portal this offseason and it sure looks like we could use some of his decision making on offense. His stat line in 13 minutes off the bench: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists to 1 turnover and 1 steal
Things you don’t love to see - Toumi with another wild off-balance layup, which is becoming an every game occurrence at this point.
The announcers, who have done a solid job through two games, gave a well-deserved shout out to the traveling Seton Hall fans, who deserve their props and more for having this team’s back when not many will.
Addae-Wusu made a weak pass that was intercepted and raced down the court for a pick-six turning a 17-15 point game to a 19-15 game with 8:30 remaining, which ignited a Vanderbilt run for a 26-15 lead. Dylan was promptly subbed out for the miscue, which should happen every time a player commits a careless act the rest of the season since they don’t value possessions or the ball still.
Is Seton Hall the only team in the country that is unable to convert a two on one fast break at this point? Dual and Tubek were unable to connect when Vandy was going on their run and the rest is history.
How bad was the offense? 1-14 (7%) from the field and 4-7 (57%) from three with seven turnovers in less than 15 minutes of play in the first half. The offense improved in the second half, but the defense regressed and it was all Vandy from there.
Middleton couldn’t buy a bucket from the field initially, but to his credit he came back immediately from a miss, got a deflection and steal before converting the and1 layup and making the free throw. We need more of that tenacity from Scotty, who looks much better defensively than offensively, which wasn’t quite what we all expected.
The opening possession of the second half gave me false hope as Addae-Wusu dished to a cutting Coleman for the easiest two points the Pirates scored all game. Wish the team would make more cuts to the hoop and look for each other when they do so in the future because they are athletic.
I would have been livid if I was Shaheen when Vandy pushed after a Seton Hall make to convert an easy reverse layup to extend the lead 44-32 less than three minutes into the second half.
I thought Felton looked serviceable in his eight minutes of play to end the second half, which resulted in 6 points (2/6 from the field) and 2 rebounds (1 offensive). I think Felton will have a real opportunity to be a solid player for this team next year.
Hard to win when Chaunce Jenkins is held to three points. Scouting report is out on him now, how will he and Sha adjust?
