GAME NOTES - SETON HALL at CORNELL (Nov. 20, 2009)
SETON HALL (2-0) at CORNELL (2-0)
Friday, November 20, 2009
Newman Arena - Ithaca, N.Y.
7:00 p.m.
SETON HALL STATUS
The Pirates offense showed its mettle Sunday at Monmouth. Seton Hall defeated the Hawks, 87-72, to improve to 2-0 on the early season. Junior Jeremy Hazell broke out of his shooting slump with a game-high 26 points, while newcomer Herb Pope scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds. Seton Hall improved to 2-0 for a third straight season and will now travel to Cornell before the start of nine straight games at Prudential Center.
CORNELL'S STATUS
Cornell returns all five starters from a team that won the Ivy League championship and earned a berth in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Big Red also enter Friday's game with Seton Hall with a perfect 2-0 record including road victories at Alabama and at Massachusetts. A senior dominated squad, Cornell starts three front court players that are 6-foot-7 or taller including 7-foot, center Jeff Foote. Also among Big Red returnees is senior Ryan Wittman who is a two-time unanimous Ivy League First Teamer and one of the elite three-point specialists in the nation.
PIRATES vs. IVY LEAGUE
Seton Hall has an all-time record of 34-20 against current teams from the Ivy League. Since a 61-59 loss at Princeton in 1987, the Pirates have gone 10-0 against Ivy League teams. Last season, Seton Hall defeated Columbia, 71-50. The only team Seton Hall has a losing record against all-time is Columbia, 8-11. This is Seton Hall's third game all-time against Cornell.
OFFENSE ARRIVES AS PIRATES STOP MONMOUTH
Fresh off their buzzer-beater victory in the season-opener vs. Saint Peter's, the Pirates traveled to Monmouth for the first time in program history. Behind a strong offensive effort, Seton Hall defeated the Hawks, 87-72. The Pirates shot a blistering 52.5% from the field, compared to Monmouth's 45.6%. Seton Hall also out-rebounded their first opponent of the year, 40-to-33.
SLUMP BUSTER
Junior Jeremy Hazell broke out in a big way at Monmouth on Sunday. After going 0-for-10 in the season-opener vs. Saint Peter's, Hazell scored a game-high 26 points on 9-for-23 shooting including five three-pointers. He also hit a 30-foot shot at the first half buzzer to send Seton Hall into the locker room up 13 points.
THE POPE ARRIVES IN WEST LONG BRANCH
Sophomore Herb Pope had a break-out game with 15 points and 17 rebounds for his first double-double in a Pirates uniform at Monmouth on Sunday. Additionally, Pope dished out three assists and blocked two shots in the effort.
JACKSON SHINES IN "THRILLER"
Junior Jamel Jackson played a large role in Seton Hall's dominating first half at Monmouth on Sunday. Jackson connected on four first half three-pointers and finished the game with 15 points off the bench in only 20 minutes.
JESSE MORGAN TO JOIN PIRATES
Jesse Morgan became the second member of the 2010-11 recruiting class to sign with Seton Hall. The 6-foot-5, 175-pound, shooting guard is highly regarded as an extremely versatile wing player who can shoot the ball well and score in bunches. A First Team All-City selection at Olney High School in his native Philadelphia, he averaged 28 points per game, the third-best total among city-league players, and led the Trojans to a 19-3 record.
SETON HALL - CORNELL SERIES
This is will be only the third time in history that Seton Hall and Cornell have played. It will mark the first time that the Pirates have ever played at Cornell's Ithaca campus. Seton Hall has won both of the prior meetings, but the teams haven't matched up since Dec. 29, 1992. Prior to that meeting, it was 50 years since the teams have played (Dec. 21, 1942).
LAST 2 GAMES (Seton Hall 2-0)
Date - Score - Location
Dec. 29, 1992 - Seton Hall 75, Cornell 59 - East Rutherford, N.J.
Dec. 21, 1942 - Seton Hall 29, Cornell 28 - South Orange, N.J.
BUZZER-BEATER SEALS WIN
The Pirates won their season-opener against Saint Peter's with the help of a buzzer-beating game-winning three-pointer by senior Eugene Harvey, 53-51. Last season's leading-scorer Jeremy Hazell had a rare night where he was 0-for-10 from the field, but other Pirates stepped up. Harvey led the team with 16 points, while junior Robert Mitchell chipped in 11 points.
HARVEY AT THE BUZZER
Senior Eugene Harvey came off the bench for the first time after 93 consecutive starts to begin his career, but that didn't affect his production. A strong second half led the senior to a fine game with a team-high 16 points, six rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes of action. Harvey also moved ahead of former teammate Brian Laing for 22nd on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list.
POPE DOES IT ALL
In his first game as a member of the Pirates, sophomore Herb Pope scattered his stats throughout the box score. The 6-foot-8 forward had six points, seven rebounds, and team-highs of six assists and four blocks.
GARCIA NARROWLY MISSES DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Fifth-year senior John Garcia had a strong season-opener vs. Saint Peter's. The 6-foot-9 center scored nine points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go with three blocks. Last year, Garcia was fourth in the BIG EAST in blocks per game.
PIRATES WELCOME FUQUAN EDWIN
Highly touted 6-foot-6, 205-pound small forward Fuquan Edwin (Paterson, N.J.) has signed a national letter of intent to attend the University and play basketball for the Pirates beginning in the 2010-11 season. As a junior, Edwin averaged 16 points and eight rebounds a game in helping Paterson Catholic to a second consecutive Passaic County Championship. A Second Team All-State and All-County selection, he is the #77-ranked prospect in the Hoop Scoops Top-100. Among the nation's small forwards, Scout.com ranks him #48, while ESPN ranks him as the 23rd best small forward.
PIRATES SLAM CARLETON IN SEASON TUNE-UP
Seton Hall used an 18-1 first half run to cruise to an easy 89-62 victory over Carleton University at Walsh Gym on Oct. 30. The game marked the debut of several new Pirates including Herb Pope, Keon Lawrence, Ferrakohn Hall, Jamel Jackson and Melvyn Oliver. Sophomore Jordan Theodore led the Pirates with 17 points and recorded eight steals. Pope and Jackson both checked in with 15 points. In all, five Pirates scored in double-figures.
PRESEASON BIG EAST PREDICTIONS
Seton Hall is predicted to finish 10th in the 16-team BIG EAST Conference. Villanova is the favorite to win the regular-season title in the 2009-10 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. Notre Dame's Luke Harangody has been picked as Player of the Year. Cincinnati's Lance Stephenson was selected BIG EAST Rookies of the Year. The lone Seton Hall individual with preseason honors was junior Jeremy Hazell who was selected to the Second Team.
MOVING UP THE ASSIST CHART
For the second straight game, senior Eugene Harvey moved up a spot on Seton Hall's all-time career assist list. His eight assists at Monmouth pushed him past Richie Regan for fifth place with 449 assists. With only four more, he will jump to fourth on the list with only Shaheen Holloway (681), Andre Barrett (662) and Gerald Greene (528) ahead of him in the ranking.
SWISHIN' AND DISHIN'
With 1,327 career points and 449 career assists, senior Eugene Harvey is one of only five Seton Hall players all-time to amass at least 1,200 career points and 400 career assists. The other members include Andre Barrett (1,861/662), Nick Galis (1,651/410), John Morton (1,621/452) and Shaheen Holloway (1,588/681).
GONZALEZ RECEIVES EXTENSION
Bobby Gonzalez has received a contract extension to remain the Pirates' men's basketball head coach through the 2014-15 season. "This extension serves as a strong indicator of the University's commitment and support for Bobby Gonzalez as head coach of our men's basketball program," Quinlan said. "We expect to be successful and believe that Coach Gonzalez has taken the necessary steps to position our program for future success. He has made progress with the program in only three years and we are very pleased to have him as our head coach." Gonzalez is in his fourth season as the Seton Hall head coach. In three seasons, he has a 47-46 overall record in South Orange, which already ranks him eighth on the school's all-time wins list.
2009-10 CAPTAINS
Four players have been named captains for the 2009-10 season. Seniors John Garcia and Eugene Harvey have been named a captain for a second straight season. Junior Jeremy Hazell and senior Robert Mitchell are first time honorees.
YEAR THREE IN PRUDENTIAL CENTER
Seton Hall is now in year three at the Prudential Center and has eight sellouts under its belt. The Pirates had five sellouts in year one and three more last season. This year, Seton Hall has 17 home games including marquee match-ups against West Virginia, Syracuse, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Marquette and in-state, arch-rival Rutgers.
AT PRUDENTIAL CENTER
Last season, Seton Hall went 10-6 at Prudential Center and are 22-12 all-time in the building. Furthermore, Seton Hall is 8-10 all-time at Prudential Center against BIG EAST opponents.
PIRATES HOST FOR 2010 NCAA REGIONAL
Seton Hall University has been named a host institution for the Regional Round of the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. In conjunction with Seton Hall serving as host, the Prudential Center will be the competition venue for two games of the regional semifinals on March 25, 2011 and the regional final on March 27, 2011. It will mark the first time the City of Newark has hosted the event. It is the first time Seton Hall has hosted a round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship since 1999.
HAMPTON ADDED TO 2009-10 STAFF
Colin Hampton has been hired as Coordinator of Basketball Operations. In this role, Hampton will assist in ensuring the team's academic goals and will work closely with Seton Hall's office of academic support services for student-athletes. He will also be the Pirates' primary video operative and aid in game-to-game scouting. No stranger to Seton Hall basketball, Hampton is fresh off two years of managerial experience with the team. During this time, he served as assistant video coordinator in addition to his typical manager responsibilities.
HALL SIGNS JACKSON
After spending two years at a junior college, Jamel Jackson will bolster the Pirates' backcourt in 2009-10. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound shooting guard originally committed to Seton Hall last spring, but decided to return to Technical Career Institute (TCI) in Manhattan, N.Y. for his sophomore year in order to concentrate on academics. Jackson will have two years of playing eligibility remaining once he joins Seton Hall. A Third Team All-American and Region XV Player of the Year as a freshman at TCI, Jackson brings a reputation as an excellent shooter to South Orange. He averaged 24.5 points per game as a freshman and 21.5 points per game as a sophomore. The talented guard was also named to the 2008 All-Sportsmanship Team.
SETON SIGNS HALL
Ferrakohn Hall (Memphis, Tenn.) a 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward and true freshman will join the Pirates in 2009-10. A First Team All-State selection as a senior at White Station High School in Memphis, Tenn., Hall averaged 15 points and nine rebounds per game while leading his team in blocks. An athletic forward, he earned All-District 15 honors and was a nominee for selection as a McDonald's All-American. In two seasons at White Station, Hall guided the Spartans to a 58-20 record and two appearances in the Class AAA Tennessee State Championship. He ranks as the #46 power forward recruit in the nation by rivals.com, and #38 among all small forwards by ESPNU.com.
GARCIA'S MILESTONES
Senior John Garcia became the 103rd Seton Hall player to score 500 career points. With 528 points and 493 rebounds, he is only seven boards shy of becoming the 34th player with 500 career points and 500 career rebounds.
SCORING IN DROVES
On the heels of a remarkable sophomore season, junior Jeremy Hazell ranks second all-time at Seton Hall with 1,135 in his first two seasons. Only Nick Werkman (1,443) scored more points in his first two years as a Pirate.
THREE-POINT SPECIALIST
In the 2009-10 season, Jeremy Hazell broke the single-season three-pointers attempted record with 290 and tied Terry Dehere's record with 105 three-pointers made. In only two seasons, Hazell ranks eighth on SHU's career three-pointers made list with 183 and seventh on the attempted list with 524.
RARE AIR
Jeremy Hazell reached the 1,000-point mark as a sophomore. He's only the fifth player in Seton Hall history to reach the plateau in two seasons, joining Terry Dehere, Nick Werkman, Ken House and Darius Lane.
RETURN OF ELITE SCORING DUO
This season marks only the second time in school history that Seton Hall has begun a year with two 1,000-point scorers on their roster. Senior Eugene Harvey and junior Jeremy Hazell both eclipsed the milestone in 2008-09. The only other time Seton Hall has returned two 1,000-point scorers was in the 1987-88 season when Mark Bryant and James Major returned for their senior years after scoring their 1,000th points during the 1986-87 season. That year, Seton Hall made their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
SETON HALL IS MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD
Junior Jeff Robinson is poised to join Seton Hall at the conclusion of the first semester. Robinson played basketball for a season and a half at the University of Memphis. Due to NCAA transfer regulations, Robinson had to sit out the remainder of the 2008-09 season and the first semester of the 2009-10 season. The 6-foot-5, 232-pound Robinson played in five games for the Tigers this season and all 28 games last season as Memphis marched all the way to the NCAA Championship game. The first game Robinson will be eligible to join the Pirates will be Dec. 19 when Seton Hall hosts Temple.
GARY & DAVE RETURN
The broadcast team of Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will be back for their seventh season covering Seton Hall on the Pirates' radio flagship station, 77WABC. For the third straight year, all Seton Hall broadcasts will be heard on 77WABC. The 2009-10 season marks the 21st season for radio engineer Mike Infantino.
HALL PASS AT WWW.SHUPIRATES.COM
Go to www.SHUpirates.com to listen to all of Seton Hall's home and away games as a part of the Hall Pass. Gary Cohen and Dave Popkin will bring you all the action. New for the 2009-10 season, all of Seton Hall's non-televised games will be carried via live VIDEO stream as part of the Hall Pass package. Watch all of the action live while listening to Gary and Dave's radio broadcast. Get the HALL PASS Today!
TV EXPOSURE
Seton Hall's slate features 10 games on national television. All 18 of the Pirates' BIG EAST match-ups will be televised either nationally or regionally this season. Seton Hall will play in the first conference game of the year, Saturday, Dec. 26 vs. West Virginia, on CBS at 3:30 p.m. Following the CBS game, the Pirates will appear on national TV on Jan. 2 vs. Virginia Tech on ESPN2, Jan. 14 at Georgetown on ESPN or ESPN2, Jan. 21 vs. Louisville on ESPN or ESPN2, Jan. 28 at USF on ESPN or ESPN2, Feb. 2 at Villanova on ESPNU, Feb. 11 vs. Notre Dame on ESPNU, Feb. 20 at West Virginia on ESPN, Mar. 4 at Rutgers on ESPN or ESPN2 and Mar. 6 at Providence on ESPN360. The remaining nine conference games will be BIG EAST Network local telecasts with seven being broadcasted on SNY, one being shown on MSG and one being shown on MSG+. The Pirates' game vs. DePaul on Sunday, February 14 is the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week.
LOOKING AHEAD
LIU
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Prudential Center
Newark, N.J.
TV: None
Live Video Stream: www.SHUpirates.com
Radio: WABC 770 AM / WSOU 89.5 FM
NOTEBOOK: Seton Hall will begin a stretch of nine straight home games by taking on LIU on Saturday, November 28 at Prudential Center. In 29 career meetings, Seton Hall is only 14-15 all-time against the Blackbirds. Seton Hall, however, has won the last three meetings with LIU including their most recent game, a 110-72 victory on Dec. 2, 1994. LIU's last victory in the series came on March 6, 1973.
A much improved team, the Blackbirds return four starters from a team that went 16-14 and tied for second in the NEC last season. LIU is led by senior guard Jaytornah Wisseh who averaged 15.2 points per game last season and was a First Team All-NEC selection.
Courtesy: Seton Hall Athletic Communications
