Seton Hall falls to RU in first Round of BET

The ups and downs for the Pirates continue as SHU falls to instate rivals Rutgers.

It looks like Gary Waters will get to coach one more Big East game in his career. The Scarlet Knights, maybe motivated by their leader who is stepping down at the end of the year, should a lot of heart tonight with their timely scoring and their tough defense that held the Seton Hall Pirates to a tournament-record low 25.4 percent. The Pirates shot the record low despite Senior Guard Donald Copeland matching his career high with 28 points, including six 3-pointers. Kelly Whitney, the Pirates' second leading scorer at 15.5 points, hit his only field goal on a put-back with 9:55 left in the game. He finished with three points while going 1-9 from the field and six turnovers. Jamar Nutter was the second leading scorer with 8 points on 3-10 shooting.

The leading scorer for Rutgers was of course Quincy Douby with 18 point after starting out cold in the first half. He also led the team with 7 assists. Anthony Farmer chipped in a solid 14 points

Seton Hall trailed by 4 at the half after both teams set basketball back decades with their offensive performances. But Rutgers came out of the locker room hot scoring 13 of the first 15 points in the second half to take a 36-21 lead punctuated by a Byron Joynes' dunk. Joynes scored six points during that surge. Seton Hall then went on a 12-3 run, including two 3-pointers by Copeland, to close within 39-33. But the Pirates ran out of gas and could not get any closer as Rutgers answered with an 11-3 surge to put the game away.

Where does that leave the Pirates and their fans? Focused on the TV come Sunday that’s where. If you are either a Pirate or a Fan then you will be rooting for the favorites to win this weekend. What an end to such a roller coaster year which saw more ups and downs then a season of General Hospital.

Shakes’ take- SHU will be dancing because of the huge road wins this year. That is a big notch in your hat when Selection Sunday comes.