. Myles Powell had 13 points for Seton Hall before he was ejected in an altercation right before halftime. Michael Nzei had 10 points to give the Pirates five players in double figures. The Jaspers (5-7) were led by Zane Waterman who had 18 points and Calvin Crawford, who had 10. The Pirates put the game away with a 13-0 run in the first half, keyed by five straight points from Powell on a 3-pointer and a steal and thunderous slam and capped by Powell's layup off a drive, giving the Pirates a 36-20 lead. Rodriguez and Powell paced the Pirates with 13 points each in the half, with the Pirates holding a 49-27 lead. Delgado scored on a dunk and a free throw that pushed the lead to 54-31 with 17:40 left. Patrick Strzala hit two straight 3-pointers to bring the Jaspers within 74-56 with 2:52 remaining. The Jaspers then scored four straight points with the Seton Hall starters on the bench to slice the lead to 74-60 with 2 minutes remaining. SENIOR LEADERSHIPThe Pirates are the only Division I team to have three players who have scored 1,000 or more points during their career in Carrington, Delgado and Rodriguez. All three scored in double figures Saturday and rank among the top 30 scorers in the history of the school, with Delgado moving past Donnell Williams into the No. 29 spot Saturday. Carrington ranks 18th and Rodriguez 27th among all-time leading Seton Hall scorers. STRANGE SERIES LEADAlthough Saturday marked the first time the schools faced each other since 2005, Manhattan leads the all-time series 27-21. But the teams have faced each other only three times since 1985. WELCOME BACK JORDANSeton Hall freshman guard Jordan Walker, who apparently left the team for two days over his lack of playing time, then was talked back into returning by Seton Hall officials, returned to action with 13:30 in the first half and received a warm welcome from the Seton Hall faithful in attendance. Walker responded with a wide smile. Walker had two points and two assists Saturday. SANOGO SUSPENDEDSenior forward Ismael Sanogo, who started five of the Pirates' previous 12 games, was suspended indefinitely from the team Friday for violation of team and university rules, according to coach Kevin Willard. ''Ish has a responsibility to himself and his teammates to abide by all the rules of this university and team. Hopefully, he will understand the opportunity he has attending Seton Hall University, and he will make the changes he needs to make to be allowed back on this team.'' Willard said. ALTERCATION AND EJECTIONSWith just 40 seconds left in the first half, Delgado and Waterman locked horns in a wrestling match under the Manhattan basket going for a rebound. The altercation got heated and eventually Powell and Manhattan's Rich Williams were ejected from the game. But according to Big East assistant commissioner John Paquette, Powell will not be suspended for the Pirates' next game, the Big East opener against Creighton on Thursday. DOUBLE TROUBLEIt was the 59th time in Delgado's Seton Hall career and the ninth time this season that he collected double figures in points and rebounds. The total of 59 is the top figure in the nation. Delgado is the only active Division I player with more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. THE BIG PICTURESeton Hall: The Pirates have won 23 straight games against non-conference opponents and 28 straight non-conference wins at the Prudential Center. Manhattan: Waterman became the 38th player in Manhattan history to reach the 1,000-point plateau with a basket Wednesday night in a win over Hofstra. UP NEXT:The Pirates break for the holidays and return Thursday, Dec. 28 to face No. 25 Creighton in the Big East regular season opener. The Jaspers are off until next Saturday when they host Fairfield in the MAAC regular season opener.---More college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/-Top25)
Time: 12:00 PM EST NEWARK, N. J. -- They met as assistant coaches at Louisville and on Saturday Kevin Willard and Steve Masiello will oppose each other for the first time when No. 23 Seton Hall hosts Manhattan on Saturday at the Prudential Center. Willard has guided the Pirates to a 10-2 mark, while Masiello's Jaspers are 5-6. The two were on Rick Pitino's staff from 2005 to 2007. Manhattan leads the series, 27-20, but the two schools haven't faced each other since 2005." He (Masiello) needed a game, we really didn't need a game," said Willard. "I was stuck -- this was going to be our last non-conference game, I was going to stay at 12. But I also thought we were going to see some zone, and he presses and goes to a zone, he plays hard-nosed defense." I thought going into the Christmas break, it would actually be a good game for us. His teams play hard, they're physical, they rebound, and they defend, so I thought it's going to be a good test for us going into Christmas, especially since we're going to take a couple of days off after Christmas." Willard will be without the Pirates' best defensive player, forward Ismael Sanogo, who was suspended on Friday for a violation of team and university rules. Sanogo is averaging 4.3 points and 4.6 rebounds. His minutes will go to Michael Nzei and freshman Sandro Mamukelashvili." Ish (Sanogo) has a responsibility to himself and his teammates to abide by all the rules of this university and team," Willard said in a statement issued by the university's athletic communications department. "Hopefully, he will understand the opportunity he has attending Seton Hall University, and he will make the changes he needs to be allowed back on this team." Led by point guard Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall has finished with an even or positive assist-to-turnover ratio in nine of 12 games. Four different Pirates have recorded five assists or more in a single game this season (Carrington, Angel Delgado, Myles Powell and Desi Rodriguez. Masiello credits Willard as a mentor." He (Willard) taught me how to scout," said Masiello. "He's the best basketball mind I've ever seen in my life. He's a big part of what I know today." The thing that's fun about these games is at least one of my friends got the win if we should lose." A win would give Manhattan its first victory over a ranked team since knocking off No. 17 Oklahoma 77-67 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on March 16, 1995. Manhattan lost seven straight games to Big East opponents. Pauly Paulicap leads the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and ranks 14th nationally with 3.0 blocks per game while notching at least five on three occasions. The Jaspers rank among the top three in seven different MAAC defensive categories, including pacing the league in blocks (4.4) and forced turnovers (15.4). Over the last five games, the Jaspers limited teams to 66 points or fewer four times with the opposition averaging just 63.4 points, on 40.7 percent shooting (38.3 percent -- 2nd half), including 32.8 percent from long range." Minus two games, we've been playing really good basketball," Masiello said. "I would just like to see us rebound better. "I like our blueprint of where we are, taking teams out of their A and B options. We'll just get better as the year goes on." Seton Hall opens conference play against Creighton on Thursday. Manhattan begins league play on Dec. 30 at home against Fairfield. The Pirates have won 22 consecutive non-conference games at Prudential Center and 27 overall.
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