PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
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By JP Pelzman
The game itself often was lackluster.
The accomplishment was not.
By outlasting injury-plagued but pesky Butler 68-60 at the Prudential Center on Saturday, Seton Hall improved to 5-1 in the Big East, marking only the fourth time in its storied men’s basketball history that the Pirates have reached that plateau or better. The other seasons were 1992-93, 1999-2000, and of course, last year, when The Hall started a perfect 8-0 in conference en route to an eventual 13-5 record and a share of the regular-season title, the only one handed out.
As he has been so often for the Pirates, senior stretch four Sandro Mamukelashvili was the difference-maker, with 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists in nearly 38 minutes of action. Mamukelashvili scored seven of those points in a momentum-turning 23-7 run that closed the first half and gave the Pirates (8-4) a 34-25 lead at intermission.
The Bulldogs (2-5, 1-3), who were missing point guard Aaron Thompson (knee) and reserve JaKobe Coles (6.3 ppg), who suffered a knee injury in practice Friday, cut a 12-point second-half deficit to one on three occasions but never tied the score or took the lead.
“It just shows how dedicated this team is,” said Mamukelashvili, who noted how hard the team practiced on New Year’s Day. “We were in the huddle (down the stretch) and Shavar (Reynolds) said, ‘let’s play like veterans. Let's play hard and get the dub.’ That’s what we did. We stayed level-headed.”
Myles Cale (seven points) was quiet offensively for most of the game, but hit a dagger three to make it 61-56 with 2:26 left, and good defense and foul shooting made that advantage stand up.
“I thought we did a pretty good job most of the night,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said, “of making them take tough shots. … I thought down the stretch we did a better job of making them take some tough twos and not giving them open threes.”
“I think we did a good job of staying poised throughout the game,” said Jared Rhoden, who had 19 points on efficient 7-for-11 shooting. Rhoden was one of six double-figure scorers in the Pirates’ easy win at Xavier three nights earlier.
With this potential trap game avoided, Seton Hall can now look forward to, COVID permitting, a date at 11th-ranked Creighton on Wednesday. The Bluejays (8-2, 4-1) edged Providence, 67-65 on Saturday.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said point guard Shavar Reynolds, who had 10 points, three assists and no turnovers in 26-plus minutes. “But every game is a great opportunity to get better and keep progressing. But, obviously, being ranked, it’s definitely one (win) you’d like to get under your belt for seeding purposes and March Madness and so forth.
“So we’re going to get the scout,” he added, “we’re going to watch a little film and we’re going to go out there and play as hard as we can.”
Willard noted that four of the Pirates’ next five scheduled games are away from home. After Creighton, they are scheduled to visit DePaul, then come home for a rematch with Xavier. After that, they play at Villanova and Butler on Jan. 19 and 22, respectively, according to the current schedule. Villanova still is a in a virus pause.
Also, that Xavier game will be played on campus because of a conflict at Prudential Center with the Devils.
“I think Creighton’s as good as any team in the country,” Willard said. “The good thing about these opportunities is we all know each other at this point.”
And the Pirates certainly played like a team that is comfortable with one another.
