Seton Hall stepped up the intensity in the second half against the Fairleigh Dickinson University men's basketball team at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Saturday evening to take a 101-70 win against the Knights. The Pirates improve to 9-3 on the season, while the Knights fall to 1-9.
The Knights were led by three players in double-digits, with Sean Baptiste (North Brunswick, NJ/St. Josephs of Metuchen) matching his season-high of 31 points and almost cracking a double-double, grabbing nine boards. Alvin Mofunanya (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Morrow) and Cameron Tyler (Jamaica, NY/Notre Dame Prep (MA)) each had 12 points. Mofunanya added nine rebounds and three blocks, while Tyler dished out six assists.
FDU took a 4-0 lead to start the game, getting back-to-back buckets from Kamil Svrdlik (Prerov, Czech Republic/Gymnazium Zlin) and Mofunanya. Hazell, who had 16 points in the first 11 minutes, scored the first nine points for the Pirates'. A jumper from Baptiste gave FDU a 10-9 lead, but the Pirates staged a 9-0 run over the next three minutes.
A fast break bucket from Tyler and a lay-in from Baptiste stopped the Pirates' run and sparked an offensive spurt for the Knights, who tied up the game with nine unanswered points, ending with a basket from Eric Moore (Dover, NJ/St. Benedict's) with just under 11 minutes remaining.
The two teams traded baskets over the next five minutes. Terence Grier (Cranford, NJ/St. Thomas More Prep)'s dunk with 5:50 on the clock made it a 31-26 game, but the Pirates scored four unanswered points to take a nine-point lead.
Svrdlik put back a rebound off a free throw and Grier netted two free throws to make it a four-point game, 35-31, and a jumper by Baptiste at the buzzer made it 44-37 at the half.
Hazell led all scorers entering the half with 21 points. Baptiste led the Knights in the first 20 minutes with 13 points and six rebounds. Both teams shot 50 percent in the first period.
Seton Hall opened the second half strongly, going on a 13-2 run over the first four minutes. The Pirates were able to stretch it to a 79-46 advantage, out-scoring the Knights 35-7 in the first 11 minutes of the second frame.
FDU put together an 11-4 run to make it 90-65 with 3:26 remaining in the game. Baptiste sank his fourth three of the game to cut it down to 92-68, but the Pirates ended the game on a 9-2 run for the 101-70 victory.
“The first thing that jumps out at me is that we didn't have nearly enough shot attempts,” said Head Coach Tom Green. “At halftime, I told the guys that we just handed them six points on inbounds passes and that this could easily be an even game if we play with the same fire and intensity that we played with in the first half. In the second half, we didn't execute and didn't play as hard as we should have.”
“My focus now is on the conference schedule,” said Green. “If we take away three or four mistakes and bottle up how we played in the first half, we'll be okay in conference play.”
The Knights will return home to host Rhode Island on Dec. 30 at 7:00 p.m.
