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Listen MBB vs. St. Francis 11.14.08

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NEWARK, N.J. – Sophomore Jeremy Hazell (Harlem, N.Y.) scored 23 points to lead five Pirates in double figures as the Seton Hall men’s basketball team cruised to a season-opening win over St. Francis (N.Y.), 88-61.  SHU (1-0) led by as many as 31 on their way to a fourth consecutive victory to start a season.

Junior Robert Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) posted 17 points and seven boards in his Seton Hall debut, while sophomore Mike Davis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) notched a career-high 13 points and five rebounds.  Kayode Ayeni paced the Terriers (0-1) with 19 points.

A 3-pointer from Hazell at the 15:08 mark broke an early tie as the Pirates grabbed a 10-7 advantage.  After six straight points for SFC, freshman Jordan Theodore (Englewood, N.J.) hit a jumper and senior Paul Gause (Pittsgrove, N.J.) converted a layup to put the Hall back up by one with 12:03 left.

The Terriers managed to hang around and took their final lead of the contest when Ricky Cadell knocked down a jumpshot to make it 23-21 with 8:05 to play.  SHU took control from then on, ripping off 14 straight points over the next four-plus minutes.  Senior John Garcia (Brentwood, N.Y.) started the run with a jumper, and he later threw down a thunderous dunk that junior Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) followed with a bucket to make it 35-23 at the 3:06 mark.

Gause buried a 3-pointer with 1:30 left to push the lead to 14, and the Pirates carried a 42-28 edge into halftime.

SHU came out of halftime with a flurry as Gause drained another trifecta 15 seconds in before making a steal and feeding Hazell for a 3-pointer to make it 48-28 and force a Terriers’ timeout.  Another Hazell bomb at the 18:55 mark completed a 9-1 run out of the break.

Garcia finished an old-fashioned 3-point play with 14:46 left to cap a 7-0 spurt and give the Pirates a 60-34 edge.  The lead went over 30 on a pair of free throws from Hazell with 8:13 left that made it 74-43, and the Hall later matched that advantage when sophomore Brandon Walters (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit a baseline jumper for an 86-55 lead with 2:49 to go.

Gause was a terror up and down the floor, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals.  Garcia added 12 points and eight boards on the interior, while walk-on Pete Peregrin (South Plainfield, N.J.) hit a pair of free throws in his collegiate debut.

The Pirates shot 51.7 percent on the night, including 46.2 percent from beyond the arc.  SHU out-rebounded the Terriers, 38-32, while limiting SFC to 35.1 percent from the floor and forcing 18 turnovers.

Seton Hall is back in action on Sunday when it hosts Columbia at 1:00 p.m.