A Look Back: Seton Hall Edges Providence (1/7/12)

The early portion of the schedule proved to be difficult for the Friars, with trips to St. John’s and Georgetown to kick off the season and a return home to face #1 Syracuse before Seton Hall.

The Pirates were trending in the opposite direction.  Kevin Willard had a group with a solid mix of veterans (Jordan Theodore, Herb Pope), an emerging wing (Fuquan Edwin) and a young group of contributors (freshmen Aaron Cosby and the rehabbing Brandon Mobley) who were off to a 13-2 start.

After allowing Syracuse to shoot over 60% from the field, the Friars’ defense tightened against Seton Hall, holding them to 34% shooting from the floor, blocking a school record 17 shots (6 by Bilal Dixon off the bench in 21 minutes, 4 from LaDontae Henton).

The defensive effort stands out in watching this video – and it came from the entire roster.

Providence simply didn’t have enough offense on this night.  Gerard Coleman (4-6 from the field) went down with an injury (eventually coming back before missing the following game), Henton had a rare poor shooting night (2-8), Bryce Cotton struggled through a 1-9 night and Kadeem Batts was held scoreless.

So, how did Providence fight back from an 11 point second half deficit to make it a one point game with just under four minutes to go with such little offense?

Dixon gave them an unexpected lift on both ends, making all four shots he took, while Vincent Council was outstanding in a 23 point, nine assist, six rebound night.

PC was held without a field goal from the 4:23 mark until there were 40 seconds left to play, while Jordan Theodore made a jumper and got to the free throw line three times in the final three minutes.

Fuquan Edwin was key for the Hall early, making four 3 point field goals on his way to 24 points on the night.

Seton Hall outscored Providence 11-4 over the final three minutes to win it 64-57 and improve to 14-2 on the season.

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