Seton Hall basketball stuns VCU to open Charleston Classic

Shaheen Holloway promised the Seton Hall basketball team would get markedly better.

His Pirates proved him right, perhaps sooner than anyone expected.

Postgrad guard Chaunce Jenkins scored 22 points and reserve forward David Tubek drilled a dagger 3-pointer to lift them to a 69-66 overtime upset of VCU in Thursday’s Charleston Classic quarterfinals – an enormous leap forward for a squad whose back was against the wall after a tough start.

“The guys fought, man,” Holloway said afterward. “Super proud of these guys. They clawed, they scratched, they made plays when we had to make plays.”

Seton Hall (3-2) broke through offensively against a top-10 defense in the country while continuing to lock things down on the other end. VCU (4-1) was the favorite to win the tournament and the preseason pick to win the Atlantic 10 Conference.

This could well win up being a Quad 1 victory when all is said and done.

The Pirates now face either Nevada or Vanderbilt in Friday’s second round (at 5 or 7:30 p.m.).

In the earlier quarterfinals, Drake upended Miami and Florida Atlantic edged Oklahoma State.

3 THOUGHTS

1. Clear improvement

Against a defense ranked among the nation’s top 10 coming in, the Pirates shot the ball well, especially from deep. There was a degree of offensive balance; it wasn’t Chaunce Jenkins doing all the heavy lifting, although the Old Dominion transfer was clutch down the stretch. They owned the Rams on the boards by a plu-14 margin. And their defense held up its end of the bargain, but for the final sequence of regulation. Considering the competition and neutral-court setting, this was the Hall’s most complete performance so far.

2. Some alpha dog from Isaiah Coleman

Sophomore wing Isaiah Coleman finally showed signs of embracing the alpha-dog role he was expected to assume after a promising freshman campaign. He posted 12 points and 7 rebounds and was disruptive defensively.

3. Welcome back, Garwey Dual

After missing Saturday’s win over Wagner with a shoulder injury…

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Author : App.com | Asbury Park Press

Publish date : 2024-11-22 00:51:00

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