The Sports Xchange
Nov 18, 2017
Led by 19 points from Desi Rodriguez, No. 22 Seton Hall won its 20th straight nonconference game at the Prudential Center, turning back NJIT 82-53 in Newark, N.J., on Saturday.
The Pirates (4-0) have defeated NJIT by an average of 24.5 points in their six meetings.
NJIT (1-2) has not won at the Prudential Center in 15 games. The Highlanders are 1-22 against the Big East and are 1-4 against Top 25 opponents. Their lone win was against then-No. 17 Michigan in 2014.
Myles Powell had 13 points, Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 11, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four of Seton Hall's seven shots in 24 minutes off the bench.
Abdul Lewis led NJIT with 10 points.
Seton Hall outscored the Highlanders 43-23 in the second half. A 10-0 burst moved the Seton Hall lead to 63-38 with 9:45 to play.
A 13-1 burst opened up a 53-36 Pirates lead, their biggest to that point, with 12:03 left. They established it with Rodriguez on the bench with four fouls.
Seton Hall went on a 6-0 run over the last 1:38 of the first half to grab a 39-30 lead, its largest of the half. The Highlanders attempted to wear down the Pirates in the half by committing 10 fouls, but Seton Hall took advantage by hitting 9 of its 11 free throws.
It was 10-10 before the Pirates went on an 8-0 run for an 18-10 edge, with Eron Gordon coming off the bench to contribute four points.