Roddie Anderson III scored 19 points and Seton Hall made just enough free throws down the stretch to hold off Long Island 67-60 Thursday night in South Orange, N.J.
Anderson III, a transfer from Xavier, became the first Pirate to score 15 or more points in his first two games at Seton Hall since Eddie Griffin did it during the 2000-2001 season.
The Pirates (2-0) needed every point they could get against the hungry Sharks (0-2). Long Island took a 58-57 lead with 3:09 left in the game on a runner by Vasean Allette.
But on the next possession, Simeon Wilcher drove the lane and scored for to put the Pirates back on top. Elijah Fisher made two free throws for the Pirates, then Wilcher made two more from the stripe to make it 63-58 for the Pirates with 1:37 left.
In the final 2:08, Seton Hall was 8 of 10 from the line, which helped them seal it.
Allette led all scorers with 20 points for the Sharks. He also contributed seven rebounds and five assists. Xinyi Li tallied 10 points off the bench for Long Island, including a pair of threes. The Sharks were without two players expected to contribute for them with injuries, Matt Bewley and Jahki Howard.
Fisher finished with 12 points and five assists for Seton Hall. Rugged big man Terry Copeland Jr. chipped in with 10 points despite picking up his fourth foul with 17 minutes left in the contest.
Long Island started the game 2-for-18 from the floor, but led 24-20 with just over three minutes in the first half after a big slam by Justin Johnson. Seton Hall immediately responded with a key 8-0 run that included a three by Wilcher and a three-point play by Rodney Brown Jr.
Seton Hall led 30-26 at half.
The Pirates pushed the lead to 39-31 after a three by Anderson III with 15:23 left in the second half, but they were never able to pull away. Seton Hall was hurt by 16 turnovers.
The Sharks shot 36.4 percent from the floor and 5-for-21 from three-point range compared to 41 percent and 6-for-21 for the Pirates. Seton Hall won the rebounding battle 39-29.
–Field Level Media
