Dec. 5, 2015

Photo Gallery

USATSI Photo Gallery

PDF Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J - Freshman guard Corey Sanders shot 5-of-9 to score 14 points with six assists and four steals, but Rutgers (3-5) dropped an 84-55 decision to Seton Hall (6-2) Saturday afternoon at the RAC in the annual Garden State Hardwood Classic. The Scarlet Knights made 33.3 percent (20-of-60) of their field goal attempts and were out-rebounded 53-32 in the defeat.

Sophomore guard Mike Williams added a team-high 16 points and sophomore forward D.J. Foreman grabbed a team-best nine rebounds for Rutgers, which was hampered by injuries. With starting forward Deshawn Freeman and center Shaquille Doorson sidelined by injury, RU was out-scored 34-12 in bench points and 44-20 in the paint.

Rutgers made eight of its initial 11 shots to jump-out to a 20-11 advantage. During the spurt, Williams contributed nine points in a span of six minutes. The visitors responded with a 13-1 run, however, to take a 24-23 edge. A Sanders dunk off of an Ibrahima Diallo outlet pass provided RU a 27-26 lead that would prove its last of the contest.

Seton Hall entered the locker room at the midpoint with a 47-34 advantage after scoring nine of the final 12 points of the opening 20 minutes. The first half featured four ties and five lead changes.

The Pirates scored the initial six points of the second half and never looked back. SHU established a commanding lead for the remainder before exiting the truncated pyramid with the 29-point victory.

Four players scored in double figures for the visitors, as two Pirates posted double-doubles. Forward Angel Delgado earned Joe Calabrese MVP honors with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Rutgers returns to the hardwood Tuesday to host Central Connecticut in a 6 p.m. tip-off. The game will be televised live on BTN.

Postgame Notes

• Mike Williams led the team with 16 points. It was his third time leading the team in scoring this season and fourth time reaching double figures.
• Corey Sanders had 14 points, reaching double figures for the fifth time this season. He also tied his career high with six assists.
• D.J. Foreman had nine rebounds, his fourth game this season with at least eight rebounds. He also had a career-high three steals.
• Ibrahima Diallo had a career-high seven rebounds and two blocks.
• Rutgers had eight blocks. The Scarlet Knights have averaged seven blocks over the past two games.
• Seton Hall now leads the all-time series 38-29 and is 2-0 in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.
• The 1966-67 NIT Final Four team was recognized at halftime.
• The starters were Corey Sanders, Mike Williams, Omari Grier, D.J. Foreman and Greg Lewis. It marked the first time Rutgers used that starting lineup this season.

Postgame Quotes

Rutgers Head Coach Eddie Jordan

Opening statement: "Congrats to Seton Hall. They played 40 minutes the way it should have been played. They bounced back from being down. (Khadeen) Carrington came into the game and turned it around. He is a very good player, they have some good players. We are trying to find our way. Like every night, we wanted to contain the ball, especially against this team with good guard play. We did it for a while, but didn't do it for the rest of the game. And rebounding. Those are two facets of the game you have to do well in."

On the game turning around: "I think Carrington came in and did some good things. (Isaiah) Whitehead was a guy we wanted to keep under control with Carrington. We had a game plan for both of those guys. We thought Whitehead was okay and we had some transition breakdowns. We have to concentrate and know he was a strong right-hand driver. And Carrington will go to the left with spin moves. But half the time he didn't need those spin moves."

On effort: "Our mental effort wasn't great tonight. The physical effort is second nature and can help you, but we weren't playing smart. When you're not playing smart you get behind and have to catch up. That's tiring and we didn't play smart after 12 minutes or so."

On missing Deshawn Freeman: "We always miss a good player. He is arguably our best player. He is a guy who can catch the ball and calm things down. Brings scoring and passing, knowing the offense well with a feel for the game. He was a big we were missing and we all know (Shaquille Doorson) is out. When Greg (Lewis) gets in foul trouble we went to Ibrahima (Diallo) who is a freshman learning his way."

Seton Hall Head Coach Kevin Willard

On turning the tide after Rutgers' opening run: "We talked a lot about how they come out. They make shots. We didn't come out very intense on defense and once we got the flow going defensively, we settled down and got into a good offensive rhythm and that changed the game."

On the maturity of the team: "Anytime you win on the road, it shows you've grown a little bit. We talked about on Thursday and Friday more than anything, this is a normal BIG EAST week, Wednesday and Saturday. We played really tough at George Washington. I was proud on the way we battled. I think the big thing is I wanted to see the maturity. You had a tough loss and you battled and played well. Now can you come back on the road and do the same thing. The big thing with this group is baby steps. You can't look for them to fly off the radar because we have a long way to go maturity wise, a long way to go basketball wise. They are taking the right steps and that's what I'm happy about."

On the play of the front court:" I though Angel (Delgado) was the difference, probably in the whole game, just for the fact that he settled us down. We went to him, he made two really good moves, made easy buckets for us when we were stagnant on offense. I thought Mike (Nzei) played phenomenal. I thought he was active on defense, stepping up, obviously getting on the offensive glass helped. I thought that was the best Angel played defensively. I thought that was a big difference."

On the play of Angel Delgado: "He's been getting double teamed every game. It's almost what George Washington did with Isaiah (Whitehead) last week, onWednesday. George Washington played a two-man zone on Isaiah and ran and trapped him. Everyone's been doing that to Angel. Every time he gets it, they've been trapping him. We've talked about getting him the ball more and understanding that. He's eight games into his sophomore game. He's had great confidence. He's still been rebounding the same way, it's not like that's changed. He's still just eight games into his sophomore year."

On needing Angel Delgado to score to be successful: "At times against certain teams. He's had opportunities and again, I think the biggest thing is the four spot really helped us. I think Michael (Nzei) really helped him. Michael has helped him by finishing and being another guy in there. We need Angel to rebound the ball the way he rebounds. The way Angel played defense today, helping against (Corey) Sanders, I thought we need him to do that to be a really good team."

On Khadeen Carrington and Desi Rodriguez coming off the bench: "Timing. I'm a stickler on time. They have to learn their time isn't important as everyone else's."

On Khadeen Carrington's energy: " I think Khadeen is playing at a really good level right now. He's starting to feel really comfortable. You can see it in his body language on the offensive end, he's very confident in the way he's playing. I think he's got a real good feel on how he's playing right now."

On the mood of the program with the win: "I think it's more than anything, the big thing, is understanding how these guys can bounce back on two tough road games. Winning the in-state rivalry is obviously great. Eddie (Jordan) is going to do a great job here. I'm a big fan of Eddie. He's obviously taken over a tough situation and it's going to take some time to get his culture in. He's got a young basketball team and they are going to be a good basketball team in the future. For us, sometimes you get on runs and we've just played well the last two times against him."