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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Seton Hall trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, but rallied to defeat Providence, 88-75, and earn Coach Bobby Gonzalez his first BIG EAST road victory.  With the win, the Pirates evened their conference record at 3-3 and have won three straight.

Senior captain Jamar Nutter (Bloomfield, N.J.) entered the game needing only 10 points to become the 35^th player in Seton Hall history to score 1,000 for his career.  The 6-foot-2 guard finished with 19 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor.  He was also 4-for-6 from three-point range.  Nutter reached the milestone only four games after teammate Brian Laing (Bronx, N.Y.) did.  They are the first duo to score their 1,000^th points in the same season since Donnell Williams and Levell Sanders did so during the 1997-98 season.

Similarly to last season, Providence jumped out early on the Pirates, racing to a 9-2 lead.  Seton Hall made two jumpers to draw closer at 9-6, but the Friars then went on an 8-1 run capped by a Jonathan Kale three-point play that pushed their lead to 10, 17-7, with 13:18 remaining in the first half. 

A layup by Weyinmi Efejuku gave the Friars their largest lead of the game, 15 points, with the score 26-11 and 8:49 left in the first half. 

A quick 9-2 Seton Hall run brought the Pirates to within eight, 28-20.  Nutter hit two three-pointers as the Pirates scored 10 of the final 13 points of the half to pull to within one, 38-37, at the half.

Seton Hall blitzed the Friars to begin the second half scoring the first eight points and jumping out to a 45-38 lead on a three-pointer by sophomore Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 18:25 remaining in regulation.  Harvey finished with 10 points and four assists.

With 15:56 remaining, Nutter was called for an offensive foul and a technical foul was issued to Coach Gonzalez.  Providence’s Dwain Williams made both free throws and Jeff Xavier scored on the ensuing possession to reduce the Pirates’ lead to one.  However, the sequence of events seemed to put a charge into the Pirates.  Seton Hall scored the next seven points, and eventually pushed their run to 19-5, and led 68-53 with 9:05 remaining. 

Senior Brian Laing picked up his fourth double-double of the season with a team-high 22 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.  Sophomore Larry Davis (Middle Village, N.Y.) played a strong all-around game with 13 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals in 35 minutes off the bench.

Seton Hall shot a season-high from three-point range and the free-throw line.  The Pirates were 8-for-16 for 50.0% from behind the arc and shot 24-of-27 for 88.9% from the line.  The Pirates also out-rebounded the Friars, 38-to-34, and out-shot them, 50.0%-to-38.8%.

The victory marks the first time since Feb. 1, 2006 that Seton Hall won a third consecutive BIG EAST game.  It was their first BIG EAST road win since they shocked eighth-ranked Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center on March 3, 2006.

Seton Hall returns to action on Sunday, January 27 when they take on Cincinnati at Prudential Center.  Game time is scheduled for noon.