Seton Hall’s season opener was painful for Shaheen Holloway to watch.
The Pirates’ head coach, known for his intensity, got his left wrist wrapped up during the second half of Monday’s 57-53 win over Saint Peter’s and told reporters postgame that he believed he broke it at halftime.
How?
“Coaching stuff,” Holloway said.
Holloway and the Pirates will have plenty to improve on Saturday afternoon against visiting Fordham in South Orange, N.J.
Seton Hall (1-0) trailed Saint Peter’s for 8:22 of game time and was behind 50-46 with 7:39 to play. The Pirates scored 10 straight points to turn the tables, but only two points came on a field goal, the rest by free throws.
Defense is Holloway’s calling card, and the Pirates holding the Peacocks without a field goal for 6:24 down the stretch helped them win the game despite 14-for-44 shooting from the field. Seton Hall also lost 14 turnovers and was outrebounded by three.
Old Dominion transfer Chaunce Jenkins scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds in his Seton Hall debut. Prince Aligbe, from Boston College, added 10 points.
“We’re so far from where we could be,” Holloway said. “I’m still learning my team. I’ve got to get these guys used to playing with each other. It’s just different and it’s going to take some time.”
The Pirates hope to show improvement against Fordham (0-1), a team that Big East compatriot St. John’s rolled over 92-60 on opening night.
The Rams kept the game close for the first 15 minutes before the Red Storm sped away. Fordham allowed 52 points after halftime and lost 19 turnovers in all, 11 on steals.
Jackie Johnson III, a transfer from UNLV, scored a game-high 23 points for Fordham. Josh Rivera added 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Fordham coach Keith Urgo said before the season that his team tries to focus on itself in the leadup to big games.
“No matter who we’re playing, and I know this might sound crazy to people, we really just try to focus on getting better within our own system,” he said. “We try not to get too caught up in what the other team does, regardless of who we’re playing. We feel like regardless of who we’re playing, we’re gonna play very similar defensively.”
Seton Hall and Fordham meet for the first time since 2001. The Rams lead the series 29-27.
–Field Level Media
