NEWARK, N.J. – Coming into the game with a four-game losing streak, there was a sense of urgency for Seton Hall regarding this meeting. A victory was needed to stop the bleeding. On tap was a visit from DePaul, 3-10 in Big East play. Despite the perception given by DePaul’s record, the Pirates could take nothing for granted.
The courtside observations….
- In early possessions, Hall is settling for a three point attempt. Fine if they go down but first few minutes they aren’t.
- DePaul came out with energy. Leading scorer Max Strus made a cut, took a pass in the lane and hit a short jumper on the Blue Demons’ first possession. It’s very important to come out strong. Vital to do so on the road.
- Kevin Willard is going to his bench early, a significant move by the Pirate coach who has sparingly employed his reserves. Freshman swingman Myles Cale is one of those players in relief, catching everyone’s attention.
- DePaul looks to push the pace. The Hall for a good part of the first half is content to play at a half court pace.
- Seton Hall goes from down one at the under-8 minute media time out to up nine in just three minutes. Offense has picked up but the underlying reason for the run is defense. The Hall is disrupting the DePaul offense and getting them out of a comfort zone.
- Offensively Desi Rodriguez of Seton Hall is unconscious from beyond the arc.
- Blue Demons settle down, and behind two treys by Tre’Darius McCallum close to 38-36 at the half.
Possessions: DePaul 37, Seton Hall 38
Offensive efficiency: DePaul 97, Seton Hall 100
At the half, Seton Hall Media Relations Director Thomas Chen reminds us that all three of DePaul’s Big East wins were on the road. Great point.
Second half:
- The Hall opens up the half looking inside via penetrations and post-ups. Hall threatens to open it up the first four minutes. DePaul, ever resilient, responds.
- In a game of mini-runs, Seton Hall gets out to an eight-point lead with just under 15 minutes to play. Would be surprised if DePaul does not hang around.
- Under-12 media timeout: Hall leads by six. Still anyone’s game.
- Under-12 rant: Why is everyone infatuated with the three pointer these days?
- Rodriguez has been a matchup problem for Dave Leitao’s club. From deep, on penetration or posting up, the Pirate senior has excelled this afternoon. At the under-4 minute timeout Seton Hall leads 70-64.
- Under-4 note: the Seton Hall dance team the ‘Fabulous Sapphires’ literally rock the house!
- DePaul missed two free throws out of the media time out. Seton Hall converts at the other end to go up 8. They prove to be very damaging misses for the Blue Demons. Down four with 39 seconds to go, DePaul goes one of two. Rodriguez, again, hits two free throws before Strus answers with a trey. Hall by two with a long 27 seconds to go.
- After DePaul came up short on a few possessions, with eight seconds left Rodriguez hits two from the charity stripe to seal it.
Final:
Seton Hall 82
DePaul 77
Possessions: DePaul 73, Seton Hall 71
Offensive efficiency: DePaul 106, Seton Hall 116
Leading scorers: For DePaul, Marin Maric 23 points. Really liked his game. The 6-11 graduate center mixed it up and had some nice moves inside. Maric shot 10-12 from the field and tied Strus for team rebound honors with 8.
For Seton Hall, Desi Rodriguez, 33 points. As the cliche’ goes, ‘did everything but sell tickets’.
Records: DePaul 10-16 (3-11 Big East), Seton Hall 18-9 (7-7)
Added stats of note: DePaul shot 12 of 22 from the line, a poor showing in a tight game like this.
Seton Hall owned the boards 48-31. They led 51-29 percent in offensive rebounding percentage. Extended possessions and the Blue Demons’ inability to capitalize on the line proved the difference.
Angel Delgado scored 16 points while owning the glass with a game-high 19 rebounds, seven (another game leading figure) on the offensive end.
Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard: “Passing the ball great got them involved early. Thought he (Rodriguez) rebounded as good as had all year. Huge win 7-7. Whenever you get a win this late it’s important. Guys gave a good effort after the Xavier game on Wednesday… One of our weaknesses has been getting beat off the dribble. Thought we made a bigger adjustment. Wanted to keep them off the three point line early and I think we did a good job on that…. We have shown in spurts on the road in the second half. Thought we did well the first half. Just have to put it all together…Watch a lot of college basketball. A lot of teams have lost 3 of 4. We lost at Villanova, Xavier and Georgetown. We came back with two very good days of practice. Nobody is blowing out anybody this time of year….(Angel) Delgado has been our emotional leader since the day he first set foot on campus.”
