Seton Hall
Pirates Take Down Georgetown to Pick up Fourth BIG EAST Win
Date: January 14, 2018
(Photo: SHU Athletics)
By: Dalton Allison
In front of a sold out Prudential Center, the No. 13 Seton Hall Pirates defeated the Georgetown Hoyas 74-61.
Pirate fans were double treated today, as they not only received a win from the Pirates, but they also were able to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1992-93 Big East Championship team.
From the outlook however, the Hoyas seemed excited to try and spoil the celebration for the home crowd. They got out to an early 12-3 lead. This offensive attack put the Pirates on their heels, and it had much to do with center Jessie Govan, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds on the day.
After finding no success early, the Pirates decided to put the ball through the post, and they found success in that strategy. The team fought their way back into the game, and they trimmed the deficit to 21-15. What turned the momentum in favor of the Pirates however was ironclad defense by Ismael Sanogo, who came up with not only a clutch steal, but also a clutch block to send the Hoyas back to defense.
The strong defensive play by Sanogo propelled the Pirates into offensive success, and they flat out dominated Georgetown late in the first half. Seton Hall closed out the first half on a 14-0 run, and went into the locker room with a 44-31 lead.
After starting the game at a sluggish pace, Angel Delgado came out on a warpath. He bullied Govan in the paint, and helped his team out score Georgetown 10-8 early in the second half. With a comfortable 54-39 lead, Kevin Willard decided it was time to get the bench involved.
The absence of the starting rotation then incited a scoring drought that let the Hoyas break into the game. The Hall was lead scoreless for a startling five minutes in game time, which Georgetown took advantage of. The Hoyas made it into an eight point game, only trailing 60-52.
Delgado broke the dry spell for the Pirates, and in the process recorded his 64th career double-double. His final stat line was 11 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists.
When Khadeen Carrington nailed a shot to make the score 71-56 with 1:40 left on the clock, the game was as good as done.
"I think defensively, we picked up our energy, and I was impressed the way we came back after we had such a sluggish week," Head Coach Kevin Willard said following the win. "I was really proud of the way our guys played."
The win against Georgetown was crucial for the Pirates, who now improve to 15-3 overall, and 4-1 in Big East play.
This win also improved the home record of Seton Hall, who moves to 11-0 at the Prudential Center this season.
Myles Powell, who tied for the team lead in scoring with Desi Rodriguez (19 points), and finished a nasty dunk in the game said that protecting the home floor is essential.
"We love our fans, we are going to keep playing hard for them."
The Pirates will travel to No. 25 Creighton for their next game on Wednesday night, before they come back home to face the No. 10 Xavier Musketeers. Seton Hall defeated Creighton 90-84 back on December 28 in their BIG EAST opener.
Dalton Allison can be reached at dalton.allison@student.shu.edu.
