Vanderbilt Overpowers Pirates in Charleston Classic

Published: Friday, November 22, 2024

by AJ Rayer

CHARLESTON S.C. — The Seton Hall Pirates (3-3) fell short against the efficient offense of the undefeated Vanderbilt Commodores (6-0) on Friday night, suffering a 76-60 defeat. The loss eliminates Seton Hall from contention for the Charleston Classic title.

After securing a critical overtime win against VCU on Thursday, the Pirates stayed competitive with Vanderbilt through the first 12 minutes. However, a five-minute scoring drought midway through the first half allowed Vanderbilt to gain momentum and pull away.

Despite their struggles, Seton Hall caught a break just before halftime when Dylan Addae-Wusu was fouled on a full-court shot attempt. Addae-Wusu sank all three free throws, cutting the Commodores’ lead to 10 at the break.

Vanderbilt’s offense caught fire to start the second half and never looked back. Chaunce Jenkins, the Pirates’ leading scorer this season, picked up his third foul early in the second half and was forced to sit, limiting Seton Hall's offensive options.

Jenkins returned for the Pirates midway through the second half but fouled out, finishing with three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field. The Commodores were able to pull away from there.

The Pirates effectively conceded the game with 10 minutes remaining in regulation as the bench unit closed out the contest. Freshman Jahseem Felton recorded the first points of his collegiate career with a wing three-pointer and finished with five points, a promising sign for Seton Hall and Coach Holloway moving forward.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Coleman led the offense on Friday and is beginning to establish his role in Coach Holloway’s system following strong performances against VCU and Wagner. Coleman has shown improvement each game, posting a career-high 20 points against Vanderbilt, including an impressive 4-of-7 from three-point range.

Defensively, the Pirates struggled to contain Vanderbilt’s Tyler Nickel, who hit six three-pointers in 13 attempts. Nickel finished with 24 points to lead all scorers Friday night. Vanderbilt frequently ran baseline out-of-bounds plays for Nickel, creating open looks.

Seton Hall also spent much of the game in a zone defense, which allowed Vanderbilt players like A.J. Hoggard to drive the lane and find open teammates on the perimeter. Hoggard led the Commodores with six assists.

The Pirates will play their final game of the Charleston Classic on Sunday, Nov. 24, against Florida Atlantic in the third-place game, which will tip off at 6 p.m. Joe Morales and Michael Bellifemini will once again have the call on 89.5 WSOU, with pregame coverage beginning at 5:45.

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

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