Field Level Media
Jan 9, 2021
Jared Rhoden scored 18 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 15 to lift visiting Seton Hall to a 76-68 victory against DePaul on Saturday afternoon in Chicago.
Seton Hall (9-5, 6-2 Big East) won for the fourth time in five games despite going without a field goal over the final 8:57. The Pirates, who shot 52.0 percent from the floor, led by as many as 21 points after halftime, seemingly taking control after opening the second half on an 11-4 run.
The Blue Demons steadied themselves to cut the lead to six with 2:09 to go, capitalizing on a Pirates' scoring drought of 4:20. Seton Hall scored 10 of the final 18 points to keep DePaul at bay, doing all of its damage from the foul line. The Pirates made each of their 14 free throw attempts in the second half and were 20-for-23 for the game.
DePaul's Javon Freeman-Liberty scored a game-high 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while Nick Ongenda followed with 10 points. Romeo Weems added eight points and eight rebounds.
Playing for the first time since Dec. 30, DePaul (1-3, 0-3) struggled to 41.7 shooting. After making 10 3-pointers in each of their first two games, DePaul has shot just 8-for-30 from beyond the arc in the past two games.
Seton Hall committed 20 turnovers compared to 16 for DePaul, but also held a 35-30 rebounding advantage.
Myles Cale (11 points) and Tyrese Samuel (10) also finished in double figures for the Pirates. Mamukelashvili added eight rebounds.
Seton Hall took a 12-point advantage into the break.
The Blue Demons had more turnovers (12) than made field goals (10) in the first half and were outrebounded 20-13.
Seton Hall overcame 10 first-half turnovers by shooting 51.6 percent, as Ike Obiagu (nine points) and Rhoden (eight) steered a balanced attack. Freeman-Liberty led all scorers with 12 points at halftime on 4-for-5 shooting.
Seton Hall has won three straight games in the series and boasts a 19-8 all-time edge against DePaul. The Blue Demons have started 0-3 in conference play in four of the past five seasons.
--Field Level Media