PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
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By JP Pelzman
Before Creighton played Seton Hall on Saturday, Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said a ceremonial goodbye to his team’s seniors.
By the time the game was over, McDermott was more than ready to wave farewell to one of Seton Hall’s seniors.
Jared Rhoden scored a game-high 19 points and hit three clutch shots down the stretch as Seton Hall overcame the loss of point guard Kadary Richmond (thumb) early and came from behind to defeat Creighton and spoil the Bluejays’ Senior Day, 65-60 in Omaha, Neb.
“In the first half, we were able to keep Rhoden in check minus the two three-point shots he hit,” McDermott said, “but in the second half he really hurt us with that mid-range. We were able to establish ourselves inside, get their bigs on the bench, (but) just couldn’t quite finish it.
“I told the team during the scout,” McDermott added, “I think he’s the best mid-range player in our league, and you have some decisions to make on our ball-screen coverage.”
McDermott noted, “Analytically, they’re the worst shot in the game. He just happens to be really good at them.”
Rhoden showed that ability when the Pirates needed it the most, hitting a jumper to give them a 57-53 lead with 5:25 left and another mid-range shot two possessions later for a 59-53 advantage. Finally, he made a tough driving bank shot to put The Hall ahead 63-60 with 59 seconds to go.
Rhoden's clutch shooting complemented a defense that limited Creighton to one basket in the final 6:33 of the first half and one basket in the last four minutes of the game.
“We didn't look pretty there at times,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said in the post-game, “but defensively I thought we really stepped up our energy in the half-court.”
The Pirates (20-9, 11-8 Big East) limited the Bluejays (20-10, 12-7) to 38.9% shooting from the field and 8-for-24 (33.3%) from three-point range to rally from an 11-point first-half deficit and a four-point second-half deficit.
They did it without Richmond, who exited 3:45 into the game in obvious pain. Willard told broadcasters Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin on the post-game radio interview on WMCA AM 570 that Richmond re-injured his thumb, but that he should be OK for the Big East tournament.
That meant that Jamir Harris had to handle the point most of the day.
“It means the world to me, the fact that Coach has the confidence in me to put me in position to lead our team today,” Harris said, as quoted by the Asbury Park Press.
There were two major turning points, one in each half. Creighton led 26-15 before the Pirates closed the first half with a 16-4 run, capped by Tyrese Samuel’s three-pointer.
In the second half, Ryan Kalkbrenner’s three-point attempt with the Bluejays ahead 53-49 rimmed out, and Harris answered with a deep three seconds later. Instead of being down seven, the Pirates were within one. Alexis Yetna, who has been slumping from beyond the arc, followed with a trey from the left wing with 6:06 left to put the Pirates ahead to stay, 55-53.
“This is a huge win, a huge statement win for our team,” Harris said, as quoted by NJ. com. “It just shows what we’re made of, and like I’ve said all year, the amount of faith we have in each and every guy on this team, we believe in each other. And we showed that tonight with ‘Kooks’ going down.”
