The Seton Hall men’s basketball team was never in sync in a 70-63 home loss to in-state rival Rutgers Saturday night in Newark, N.J.
A year after stealing a dogfight with a borderline NCAA Tournament team in the Garden State Hardwood Classic in Piscataway, N.J., the Pirates dropped a matchup at the Prudential Center in ugly fashion as the Scarlet Knights closed out a victory in which they never trailed.
Back-to-back threes from touted freshman Gavin Griffiths helped the Scarlet Knights build an initial 12-5 lead that would be relinquished when a Kadary Richmond coast-to-coast left-handed finish in transition tied the game up at 14 apiece with just under 11 minutes left in the first half.
The ensuing possession would see Griffiths come off a down screen to sink his third three in the game’s first 10 minutes, giving Rutgers take a 17-14 lead. A pull-up jumper from Richmond would tie the game at 17 moments later, the last time the Pirates would be that close.
Five Scarlet Knights topped double-figures, led by 19 points from UMass grad transfer Noah Fernandes. Griffiths and Jamichael Davis each scored 11 points, while center Cliff Omoruyi also notched 11 points while grabbing 13 rebounds.
Kadary Richmond was perhaps the lone bright spot for the Hall, tallying 21 points on 8-18 shooting to go along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Dre Davis also hit double-figure scoring with 12 points and 6 rebounds and Jaden Bediako tallied six points and corralled 11 rebounds in another yeoman-like performance on the blocks.
Rutgers shot 41.1%, but 50% from beyond the arc on 12-24 shooting, while knocking down 12-16 free throws, compared to 36.1% from the field for the Pirates and 3-20 from three, including a 3-15 mark from Pirates guard Al-Amir Dawes. The Pirates also shot just 59% from the charity stripe, including an 0-5 mark to start a game that saw Rutgers lead 12-7 early.
The Scarlet Knights took an 8-point lead into the half and would hit back-to-back three pointers to start the second frame to balloon its lead to 14 points at 39-25. A Shaheen Holloway timeout after those threes would lead to a 10-2 Pirate run that cut the lead to six at 41-35, but the Scarlet Knights would expand the lead to as many as 17 before the Pirate chipped away to the 7-point differential that would end the game.
The loss drops Seton Hall to 5-4, with all four losses coming in the team’s high-major matchups, none of which have felt like potential victories late in those games.
The Hall closes outs its non-conference schedule with a home matchup Tuesday against Monmouth in Newark and a neutral site game against SEC-foe Missouri in Kansas City on Dec. 17.
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