WSOU

Pirates End Four-Game Losing Streak with 82-77 Win over DePaul

Date: February 19, 2018

desi

(Photo: SHU Athletics)

By: Jose Feliciano

The Seton Hall men's basketball team (18-9, 7-7) ended their four-game rut with an 82-77 win over the DePaul Blue Demons (10-16, 3-11). With the win, the Pirates sweep the season series with DePaul for the third straight season as Seton Hall defeated DePaul earlier in the season with an 86-70 victory at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

Desi Rodriguez led the way for the Pirates with 33 points as well as eight rebounds and two assists. He also went 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

"He's been our best player on the offensive end over the last five games by far, and the most consistent," Head Coach Kevin Willard said about Rodriguez after the game.

Rodriguez did get off to a slow start but did catch fire later on throughout the game.

"I had to take my time in the second half and be more aggressive, and it was going well for me in the second half," Rodriguez said on his performance.

Seton Hall and DePaul went back in forth early on, as there were five lead changes by the first media timeout. The Pirates struggled to shoot from the field early on, particularly from long range as they shot 39 percent from the field and only 14 percent from behind the arc by the time the under-8 media timeout came around. Desi Rodriguez caught fire after that as he hit three three-pointers and ignited the Seton Hall offense. Meanwhile, Myles Cale played well off the bench as he scored six points and had two rebounds in the first half.

Angel Delgado wasted no time getting his 68th career double-double as it only took him 17 minutes to do so. He had a monstrous day overall as he finished with 16 points, 19 rebounds, and four assists. He has had a combined 38 rebounds against DePaul overall this season. What is even more impressive about Delgado's performance is the fact that Kevin Willard has been keeping him out of practice since he has been dealing with a dislocated kneecap since the Marquette game.

"I just look at him, I get so mad when he says to just stay on the bike," Delgado said when asked about being held out at practice, "I hate the bike. I just get mad about that because I never miss a practice, I never miss a game. Every time he takes me out of practice it is annoying because that's when I get better."

The defense throughout the first half was inconsistent as while they were good enough to hold on to the lead, they allowed DePaul to shoot 50 percent from the field. The Pirates meanwhile only shot only 38 percent while only shooting 33 percent from long range. The Pirates did out-rebound the Blue Demons 25-17 in the first half, with 11 of them being offensive rebounds. Seton Hall went into the second half with a 38-36 lead over the DePaul.

Seton Hall got off to a good start in the second half as after a layup from Marin Maric, the Pirates went on a 6-0 run to increase their lead. After that run, the Pirates and the Blue Demons began trading baskets, with Rodriguez leading the Pirates and Maric for the Blue Demons. For every basket the Pirates made, the Blue Demons came back with another. Desi was so good he hit seven straight baskets to start the second half.

DePaul eventually made it into a one-possession game in the final minutes as the Seton Hall defense began to falter again. The Pirates were able to hang on as Desi Rodriguez put it away with two free throws in the final 10 seconds.

The offense played a lot more efficiently as Seton Hall shot 50 percent from the field in the half. The Pirates did have foul trouble in the second half as they pushed DePaul to the bonus early in the second. Ismael Sanogo and Khadeen Carrington both fouled out of today's game. DePaul also had foul trouble as Max Strus and Eli Cain fouled out as well.

The win was a huge one for the Pirates as they are now back at .500 in Big East play after dropping four straight.

"It was our Super Bowl today. We need to win these games," Delgado said after the win.

"It was a huge win," Willard said in his post-game conference, "Any win this time of the year is a big one."

The Pirates will be back in action this Wednesday as they will have a rematch with the Providence Friars (17-10, 8-6) at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The Pirates previously took down Providence at home with a 73-57 victory. Pre-game coverage of the game will begin at 6 p.m. on 89.5 FM WSOU.

 

Jose Feliciano can be reached at jose.feliciano@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU

 

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