(Photo credit to Bob Dea – Daly Dose of Hoops)
NEWARK, NJ – Things started quite nicely for the Seton Hall Pirates, just as it finished on Sunday in Piscataway.
Here in Newark, it was the Pirates (7-4, 0-0 Big East) that got off to a phenomenal start, which propelled them to victory over the CAA’s Drexel Dragons (5-6, 0-0 Colonial) by a score of 66-49 on Wednesday night inside the Prudential Center.
It didn’t come as easy as some had hoped for, for the Pirates, as it lost a pair of quality players, junior guard Femi Odukale and freshman guard Jaquan Sanders late in the first half.
Rewinding to Big East Media Day, head coach Shaheen Holloway mentioned that the offensive structure was “a work in progress.” In contrast, the team’s defensive structure would be the team’s focus.
How does this all tie into the non-conference finale?
Team defense started swarming the Dragons, forcing Drexel not to convert a field goal in seven straight tries. The first bucket from the field came from Coltrane Washington following the first timeout on the floor. And that was from distance.
Responding were the Pirates, and more specifically, Tray Jackson, who hit his first triple, and then his second within about 90 seconds of each other, which propelled the Pirates on an 8-0 run.
There wasn’t much doubt that Tray Jackson was the team’s best player in the first half. He was feeling it offensively and, even more importantly (for Holloway), defensively. Jackson, a 6-10 senior forward, locked down the five spot, where he logged one block and four rebounds in the contest.
The bad became apparent when Odukale was slow to get up on a Drexel possession, where (from our vantage point along the opposite baseline) he was plagued by a lower-body injury (groin area). The Pitt transfer came back onto the floor but, minutes later, was down for a solid 90 seconds. The belief was that the bench assumed Odukale would get up until he didn’t.
Odukale needed assistance getting up from the baseline, where he was helped to the locker room, and didn’t put any pressure on his left foot. Definitely concerning heading into the half.
It was a tough go for Drexel, as they were held to just six made shots in 20 attempts (20.7%). The Dragons also attempted 16 triples and were successful on just two. The hardest part for Zach Spiker’s squad was that only two players named, Amari Williams and Coletrane Washington scored eight points each. No one else.
A 15-point edge into the locker room for the Pirates seemed comfortable since coming out hot. Holloway’s squad had Tray Jackson as the only student-athlete to eclipse double-figures.
ANOTHER THREE! 🙌@Trayjackson_ x @SetonHallMBB pic.twitter.com/8fwNihtX2x
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 15, 2022
“I’m happy for him. He’s been in a little funk; I’ve been trying to get him out of it and move him around a little bit. He has to play the position; we don’t have anybody else. It’s almost because he’s 6’10”, right?” Explained Holloway.
Nine players who entered the game for Seton Hall hit at least one shot from the floor.
Seton Hall was able to execute on offensive rebounds, which allowed the Pirates to grab ten second-chance points off the boards.
The second half featured lots of offense and defense on both sides of the ball.
Some may think I fell asleep during the game, but this Drexel Dragons team put the Pirates in a position of sheer discomfort down the stretch.
Leading the charge in the second half was Kadary Richmond, who played splendidly off the bench—registered a game-high three steals. He grabbed a key steal from Okros that kick-started a 9-0 run for the Pirates in the coming minutes.
Stolen and Slammed 🔥 @KadaryRichmond3 x @SetonHallMBB pic.twitter.com/p1brhEDtNB
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 15, 2022
“I think he’s got spurts. Sunday, he had seven steals, but tonight, I thought he was not very good on defense. As I said, that’s being mature. These guys gotta start looking at themselves in the mirror. But he’s growing, he’s growing.” said Holloway regarding Richmond.
Putting the Pirates up by 26 and then 28 was Al-Amir Dawes, who hit home a booming triple off a Jamir Harris pass.
Then, it was the Louisville transfer of Dre Davis, who hit back-to-back buckets. The latter, off a steal from his brother Tae, who then found Dre to secure the 30-point cushion for the Pirates.
Davis to Davis 💪#HALLin 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/K50c1NU072
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 15, 2022
Seton Hall would sit with a 31-point edge in front of Drexel.
This is where things would get interesting.
The Pirates were already without Odukale and Sanders, who provided quality defense for Holloway and the Pirates. And Tray Jackson had fouled out. Not an ideal situation, as Holloway and company were down to seven scholarship student-athletes at his disposal.
Three-point buckets seemed to be the talk of the town in the latter parts of the contest, as House and Butler knocked a pair down for the Dragons to put Drexel on an 11-0 run and within 19 points of the leading Pirates.
Seton Hall couldn’t bank home anything in six tries, which made them sluggish from the offensive side. The eight turnovers in the second half didn’t help them either. But for their sake, nothing (much) came from it.
Drexel’s Coletrane Washington hit a booming triple to give the Dragons a 14-2 run midway through off an offensive rebound.
The road team was able to narrow Seton Hall’s lead to within 11 in the final three minutes of regulation before Al-Amir Dawes hit the dagger to effectively stop the Dragons’ 21-4 run and hard-fought attempt to spoil the night for the Hall.
Junior guard Kadary Richmond started the game off the bench but contributed both on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
It’s not how you start a game; it’s simply how you finish these games. And it wasn’t pretty.
Shaheen Holloway wasn’t thrilled with the ending and, most notably, how the second half turned out.
“Yeah, I’m not very happy right now. I won’t say too much because I don’t want too much to come out. I’m not very happy. I’m disappointed because we’ve got a bunch of older guys, but we’re still very immature. If you want to be a good team, you can’t finish games like that; you’ve got to be able to take the next step. We’ve got to grow, we’ve got to watch this and grow from it, and get ready for Saturday.
But positively, Holloway has figured out what this team’s identity is. Defense.
The Pirates start fast, but injuries plague them. The big man in Alexis Yetna is still struggling to make a comeback with knee issues, and now Odukale and Sanders left the game early.
They open the Big East Conference schedule on Saturday against the Providence Friars for a noon matinee from the Prudential Center.
“It’s going to be a tough game. (Providence is) very well-coached, they play hard, and they’re scrappy. I know we came out of the non-conference 7-4, and it looks bad, but to me, it’s not bad.”
Another home dub.
We'll see you Saturday as we open BIG EAST play against Providence!#HALLin🔵⚪ | @AffinityFCU pic.twitter.com/s5U0vfwdHP
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 15, 2022
