Seton Hall University
Eastern Washington
Players Mentioned
Second Half Surge Sends MBB Past EWU
12/22/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2013
NEWARK, N.J. - A prolific second half powered the Seton Hall men's basketball team to its most lopsided victory of the season as the Pirates ran past Eastern Washington, 92-70, on Sunday at the Prudential Center.
Seton Hall (8-4) poured in a season-high 54 points in the final period as six players finished in double-figures for the first time since an 89-58 blowout of eventual Northeast Conference champions LIU-Brooklyn exactly one year ago at Barclays Center.
Returning to the floor for the first time since sustaining an injury in this season's matchup with LIU-Brooklyn on December 5, senior Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) came off the bench to log 27 minutes. He ignited the Pirates attack with 14 points and four assists, while also tying the program record with eight steals.
Edwin already shared the single game steals record with Paul Gause and Levell Sanders after totaling eight against Mercer during the 2011-12 campaign in which he went on to lead the nation in steals. The 6-foot-6 guard increased his steal total to 30 in nine appearances this season and now stands eight shy of Gause for second in school history. He needs only 12 more steals to match Dan Callandrillo's all-time record of 260.
Brian Oliver (Glassboro, N.J.) and Eugene Teague (Vineland, N.J.) ended the night tied with a team-high 16 points apiece to pace five starters who each scored at least 10 points. Teague also grabbed nine rebounds, finishing just one shy of his fifth-straight double-double.
Seton Hall freshman Jaren Sina (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) stepped up in the absence of injured guard Sterling Gibbs (Scotch Plains, N.J.) delivering 14 points to go with a career-high eight assists and three steals. Making his fifth consecutive start, Sina did not commit a turnover in 35 minutes of action.
After missing the bulk of the first half due to foul trouble, Teague was the difference as the Pirates outscored Eastern Washington by 20 in the second stanza. The 6-foot-9 big man was limited to one point in the first half, but he tallied 11 in the first 10 minutes of the final frame helping The Hall open a double-digit lead.
Seton Hall converted on 17 field goals in the half en route to a season-best 29 for the game. Haralds Karlis' (Riga, Latvia) layup off a steal by Sina gave the Pirates their largest lead of the night at 83-56 with 4:11 to play.
The Hall made Eastern Washington pay for their giveaways throughout the contest, turning 16 Eagles turnovers into 22 points. Behind Teague and forward Brandon Mobley (Savannah, Ga.), who chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds, the Pirates also enjoyed a 40-20 advantage in points in the paint.
Seton Hall took a two-point lead into the locker room despite getting doubled up on the glass (20-to-10) by the Eagles over the first 20 minutes. The teams traded buckets in the opening minutes, but a 3-pointer by Eastern Washington's Parker Kelly and a layup by Venky Jois on consecutive possessions gave the Eagles' their largest lead of the half (12-6) at the 14:55 mark. The Pirates immediately answered with a jumper from Karlis as the two squads would only be separated by an excess of four points on one more occasion in a back-and-forth half that featured seven ties and eight lead changes.
The Pirates knotted the score at 20-20 at the 7:49 mark of the period, but back-to-back treys from Eastern Washington forward Felix Von Hofe gave the Eagles a six-point advantage for the second time in the contest. The Pirates responded with an 8-0 run that was highlighted by triples from Edwin and classmate Oliver to move ahead with just over five minutes to play in the half. Seton Hall did not trail for the rest of the frame and with Eastern Washington attempting to hold for the final shot; Edwin came up with his sixth steal of the half and coasted in for a slam that put The Hall on top for good.
Even in the absence of Gibbs, who leads the BIG EAST in free-throws made and attempted, Seton Hall continued to earn its way to the foul line. The Hall converted on 27-of-38 attempts (71.1 percent) for the game while the Eagles attempted only 17 for the game, making 10.
Pirates' forward Patrik Auda (Brno, Czech Republic) also returned to action and provided a boost to the squad with six points in six minutes during the closely contested first half. Karlis added a season-high 10 points.
Parker Kelly scored a game-high 17 points for Eastern Washington (5-5) and big man Venky Jois finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Seton Hall will wrap up its non-conference schedule on Friday hosting Lafayette in historic Walsh Gymnasium on the University's South Orange campus. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. in a national telecast on FOX Sports 1. Seton Hall's radio team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will have the call on 970 AM WNYM.
