Seton Hall Athletics
Just twelve days ago, the 11th-ranked Wichita State Shockers ran the Pirates out of Kansas in a commanding 77-68 victory. The final score did not indicate how much Gregg Marshall’s team ran the show. On Sunday night, the Pirates had their chance to show they had learned something from that experience.
The Georgia Bulldogs led from the tip-off to the final buzzer in a 65-47 rout inside the Stegeman Coliseum on Sunday night.
It was the first time that Seton Hall has been held under 50 points since a 46-42 win over USF in the first round of the Big East Tournament on March 12, 2013.
The Pirates did not have a scorer in double-figures, as Brandon Mobley and bench players Desi Rodriguez and Khadeen Carrington each had eight points. The Pirates shot 16-of-54 from the field, but what stuck out was what UGA did to the Pirates in defending the three-ball. The Pirates shot a season-worst 3-of-20 from deep, a meager 15 percent. The Bulldogs also rolled on the glass, outrebounding the Pirates 50-31.
Georgia’s Marcus Thornton and Kenny Gaines combined to score the first 14 points as the Bulldogs held complete control with a 10-point lead less than four minutes into action. After Isaiah Whitehead knocked down a trey for SHU to cut the lead to seven, Georgia doubled its advantage with an 8-0 run that was completed by a lay-in by post man Nemanja Djurisic.
A three-pointer by Mobley followed by a Rodriguez basket completed a 5-0 run for SHU to cut Georgia’s lead to nine, but The Hall scored just four points in the final 6:54 of the first half. The Bulldogs held leading scorer Gibbs scoreless in the first and led 41-22.
Down 20 early on in the second half, the Pirates were looking to get something going after a quick 3-0 run, but Georgia threw down two straight dunks by Gaines and Djurisic, claiming a 51-27 lead. Gaines finished with 15 and Thornton compiled 13 in the win, while 5-foot-10 J.J. Frazier did just about everything that head coach Mark Fox could have asked for. Frazier had 11 boards, seven assists, and six points in the win.
Gibbs was held to 1-of-11 from the field as the Big East’s leading three-point shooter went 0-of-5 from three-point land.
The Pirates have Christmas week before facing Maine on Saturday, Dec. 27, in the annual Walsh Gymnasium game in South Orange.
John Fanta can be reached at john.fanta@student.shu.edu or on twitter @John_Fanta.
