HALL WIN! No. 23 Pirates' Defense Stifles No. 7 Texas, 64-60

Thursday, December 9

Newark, N.J.

6:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

Texas

HALL WIN! No. 23 Pirates' Defense Stifles No. 7 Texas, 64-60

12/9/2021 9:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (PDF)

Jared Rhoden scores a team-best 18 points and Alexis Yetna had a double-double in The Hall's second Top-10 win of the year.

NEWARK, N.J. – The Pirate defense held No. 7 Texas scoreless for 7:40 late in the second half as the No. 23 Seton Hall men's basketball team outlasted the Longhorns, 64-60, at the Prudential Center on Thursday as part of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle.

Trailing by two with just over 8:00 left in the game, the Pirates defense took over. Clinging to a one-point lead with under a minute to play, Bryce Aiken (Randolph, N.J.) scored the Pirates final five points, including a huge three-pointer, to secure the victory.

Senior Jared Rhoden (Baldwin, N.Y.) led the Pirates with 18 points to go with five rebounds. Alexis Yetna (Paris, France) had a double-double with 12 points and a team-best 11 rebounds.

The victory is the second over an AP Top-10 team this season already for the Pirates having defeated No. 4 Michigan in Ann Arbor back on Nov. 16. Currently only three programs in the nation have at least two AP top-10 wins so far this season: Duke, Gonzaga and Seton Hall.

What Happened:
Trailing 6-4 early, the Pirates went on a 10-0 run fueled by a pair of three-pointers by Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.) to give them a 14-6 lead with 13:33 left in the first half. The longhorns answered with a 13-4 burst to grab a 19-18 lead with 9:32 left for the break.

Down 37-32, a layup by Rhoden cut The Hall's deficit to three points with just 46 seconds left before halftime, and on the Pirates' next possession, a corner three-pointer by Yetna sent the teams into the locker room tied at 37. The score was tied despite Texas shooting 55.6% from the floor in the first half, compared to 41.9% for The Hall.

Texas struck early to take a five-point lead in the second half, but The Hall bounced back with an 11-2 run, and a jumper by Rhoden with 13:17 left to play gave it a 50-46 advantage.

Texas' Timmy Allen scored to cut the Longhorn deficit to 56-54 with 8:12 left to play, but then the Pirates ratcheted up their defense. The Hall held Texas scoreless for the next 7:40, but the Longhorns were playing stout defense too, and their drought-breaking bucket cut the Pirates lead to 59-58 with under a minute left. With 33 seconds to go, Aiken drilled a huge three-pointer to give The Hall a four-point cushion, and his free-throws with 14 seconds left sealed the game for the Pirates.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 23-for-57 (40.4%) from the floor for the game, while Texas was 25-for-59 (42.4%). The Hall was 5-for-21 (23.8%) from three-point range, while the Longhorns were just 1-for-13 (7.7%).
Seton Hall out-rebounded Texas, 38-to-34, but the Longhorns had a slim 14-to-10 edge on the offensive glass.
Seton Hall was 13-for-19 (68.4%) from the free-throw line, while the Longhorns were a perfect 9-for-9.
Seton Hall had a slight edge in the turnover battle, forcing 10, compared to nine for Texas.
The Pirates had a huge 17-to-2 advantage in bench points.
Rhoden had a team-best 18 points to go with five rebounds.
Yetna finished with a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Cale and Aiken both finished with 10 points apiece.
Tyrese Samuel (Montreal, Quebec) had seven points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 8-1 on the young season, while Texas falls to 6-2. It's The Hall's best start since the 2017-18 season when it began 9-1.
Seton Hall is now 2-2 all-time against the Longhorns, picking up its first victory in the series since Dec. 30, 1969.
The victory is Head Coach Kevin Willard's 212^th at Seton Hall, which ties him with P.J. Carlesimo for second-most in program history.
Tonight's game was the 131^st in Cale's career, which ties him with former legendary Pirates John Morton and Gerald Greene for fourth-most on Seton Hall's career list.
Seton Hall is now 7-1 all-time when ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll. Furthermore, the Pirates improve to 174-63 when ranked in the Top-25. They are 24-25 all-time when ranked and playing another ranked team.
The Pirates are now 120-18 (.869) since 2015-16 when its lead gets to seven points at any point in the game.
The Pirates are now 79-11 (.878) all-time at the Prudential Center against non-conference opponents. They're a perfect 5-0 this season.
This was Seton Hall's first victory in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle, which was created in 2019.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Sunday, December 12 when it hosts local non-conference rival Rutgers at the Prudential Center. The game is SOLD OUT, and tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on FS1 and heard on AM970 The Answer, simulcasted on the Pirate Sports Network. Fans are encouraged to WEAR BLUE!!