Seton Hall defeats Georgetown 70-63

The Seton Hall University Pirates won a hard-fought battle against the Georgetown Hoyas 70-63 last night at the Capital One Arena. The Pirates were led by Tray Jackson and Jared Rhoden who contributed 21 and 14 points respectively. Seton Hall responded to their two-game losing streak to improve its record to 13-7 (4-6 Big East Record), With the loss, they fall to 6-18 (0-8 Big East Record) and have lost nine games in a row.

Tray Jackson inserted into the starting lineup made a huge difference in all aspects of play. Shooting five of nine from three-point range in tying a career-high in points with 21. The Pirates are still missing Bryce Aiken who is recovering from a concussion suffered in the Marquette game on January 15th. Donald Carey led Georgetown with fifteen points.

The first half was a back and forth contest until Seton Hall had a 12-4 run that contributed to a seven-point halftime lead. Both teams were cold to begin the second half but Georgetown jumped on the Pirates for a 10-0 run to regain the lead for the first time since the first half. The Hoyas pushed the lead to five 49-44.

Seton Hall shot forty percent from three-point range capped by Jackson’s back-to-back threes which helped the Pirates regain the lead at 55-53. “My teammates have an extreme amount of confidence in me,” Jackson told reporters. “They keep telling me all the time, ‘Shoot the ball, Tray.’”

“What Tray gives us is a pick-and-pop four-man who can really shoot the basketball,” Pirates coach Kevin Willard said. “He’s our highest-percentage shooter, he’s one of the best shooters I’ve had. It was trying to get him a lineup that we could get him shots. All week we practiced on just trying to get him open and get him opportunities to spread the defense and I thought it really worked well.”

Seton Hall won the rebound battle 43-36 and dished out eleven assists. The Pirates return to action hosting Creighton Friday at the Prudential Center. Dikembe Mutombo was in the crowd rooting on his son Ryan Mutombo.