Seton Hall Wins At Under Armour Reunion

Photo by Jason Schott.

Seton Hall got a big victory on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, as they scored 50 points in the second half to beat #22 Texas Tech in the Under Armour Reunion.

Seton Hall was led by senior Desi Rodriguez, who put up 24 points, including 14 in the second half, on 7-16 shooting, including 3-6 from behind the arc, with seven rebounds and four assists. The only downside to his night was that he committed five turnovers.




Seton Hall Head Coach Kevin Willard said of Rodriguez, "With Des, I think one of the biggest things I've seen is he's become a lot more consistent with his effort. He's become a lot more consistent with his effort, with his practice and when he's passing the ball like he did early on. I just think it gives us another guy to make plays. I think he's worked hard, but most importantly he's become a really consistent worker and I think he's just reaping the benefits - a lot like all these guys. These guys are all workers. They are all talented, but I think the biggest talent that they have is they all work. They all put the work in, they all work on their games and Desi's really bought in to being a consistent worker and it makes a big difference."

Rodriguez is averaging 17.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this season for the 6-1 Pirates.

Texas Tech led this one 42-39 after a highly entertaining first half. Keenan Evans led the way with 12 points in the frame, followed by Jarrett Culver, who had 11 off the bench.

In the second half, Seton Hall put streaks together to build their lead, starting with a 9-2 run capped by an Ismael Sanogo jumper that gave them a 56-51 lead with 13:57 left.

The Pirates then used a 7-1 run to take a ten-point edge, 75-65, on a Khadeen Carrington jumper with 5:37 left.

Seton Hall sealed the win when Myles Powell drained a three with 2:05 on the clock to make it 82-73.

Powell finished with 19 points on the night, as he shot 7-13 overall, and made four from behind the arc, with four rebounds and four assists.

Powell stepped up big time when senior Angel Delgado was in foul trouble, and he said of that, "Khadeen (Carrington) just kept coming over to me. He tapped me on the head and said 'you got a big shot for me.' So I just kept that in my head and then it was a dead ball; we came to the side and coach drew up a play for me and I said 'this is my time.' I just stayed level headed and knocked the shot down."

Willard said of his team pulling away in the second half, "I thought both teams played a really good first half. I thought that was an extremely high-level game and I thought both teams played a really good first half. The second half I thought we were able to get some consecutive stops, where we were able to get some easier buckets and shots. I thought we played a little more simple on defense. I just thought it was a really high-level game from two really good teams."

Temple won the nightcap of the Under Armour Reunion with a 76-60 win over South Carolina.