Pirates To Face Vanderbilt in Charleston Classic Semifinals

Published: Friday, November 22, 2024

by AJ Rayer

The Seton Hall Pirates (3-2) will look to add to their exciting win against VCU when they take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (5-0) in the semifinal round of the Charleston Classic on Friday night.

The Pirates were able to convert on some tough shotmaking opportunities down the stretch and played lockdown defense throughout overtime to sneak past VCU by a score of 69-66 on Thursday night.

Chaunce Jenkins led the Pirates offensively, scoring all 22 of his points after halftime. Isaiah Coleman added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and David Tubek hit three clutch 3-pointers for a career-high nine points, keeping Seton Hall close as VCU tried to pull away.

Defensively, the Pirates were dominant as usual, holding a talented VCU team to 67 points on 36% shooting. Seton Hall also out-rebounded VCU 44-30, led by the gritty play of Coleman, Prince Aligbe, and Dylan Addae-Wusu.

Vanderbilt improved to 5-0 on the season with a 73-71 win over Nevada on Thursday night. The Commodores led for most of the game before withstanding a late rally from the Wolf Pack.  

While Vanderbilt's schedule has primarily featured mid-major opponents, the Commodores secured a notable power-conference win over California, defeating the Golden Bears 85-69 on Nov. 13.

The Commodores are led by first-year head coach Mark Byington, who previously coached at James Madison and Georgia Southern. Byington guided the Dukes to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32 last season before taking the Vanderbilt job.

Vanderbilt has four players averaging double figures, with guard Jason Edwards leading the way at 17 points per game. Seton Hall is familiar with Edwards, who transferred to Vanderbilt from North Texas last season. The Pirates defeated North Texas in the second round of the NIT last March, where Edwards led the Mean Green with 23 points.

Seton Hall's Prince Aligbe will face a tough challenge Friday against former Boston College teammate Devin McGlockton. McGlockton, now at Vanderbilt, is averaging 16.5 points and 10 rebounds on 74% shooting this season.

The Pirates will need to clean up their offensive execution to advance to the Charleston Classic final round. Beyond Chaunce Jenkins and Isaiah Coleman, Seton Hall must find a consistent third scoring option. Yacine Toumi, who fouled out with six points late in the second half but has shown offensive flashes in the Pirates' first five games, could step up.

Tipoff between the Pirates and Commodores is set for 5 p.m. The winner will face either Drake or Florida Atlantic, who play earlier at 11:30 a.m. Michael Bellifemini and Joe Morales will have the call on WSOU 89.5 FM, with pregame coverage starting at 4:45 p.m.

AJ Rayer can be reached at alexander.rayer@student.shu.edu. 

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