Pirates win 3rd straight over scrappy Rutgers

The slogan around the Rutgers basketball program is “Knight and Day,” to illustrate how far it has come under new coach Steve Pikiell. That was evident Friday night, the new-look Scarlet Knights pushing Seton Hall for 35 minutes after getting routed in the annual rivalry each of the previous two years.

“I really got a lot of respect for Rutgers right now,” Seton Hall forward Angel Delgado said.

Unfortunately for New Jersey’s state university, nothing has changed about the Pirates since their run to last season’s Big East Tournament crown and an NCAA Tournament berth. Despite the loss of superstar guard Isaiah Whitehead to the NBA’s Nets, they are the same talented, tough and hard-nosed team.

That was just as evident down the stretch at a sold-out and raucous Prudential Cen- ter, the experienced Pirates making every big play to win the Garden State Hardwood Classic for the third straight year, 72-61, after trailing by nine points at halftime.

“We’re a second-half team,” said junior guard Khadeen Carrington, who scored 14 of his game-high 20 points over the final 20 minutes. “We have a bunch of second-half players.”

After a lackadaisical opening half, Seton Hall (10-2) played with Big East intensity at both ends of the floor, and will enter the conference season at No. 9 Creighton on Wednesday riding a six-game winning streak.

Delgado, after his own sluggish start, was the best player on the floor, posting his sixth consecutive double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds to earn Joe Calabrese MVP honors for the second straight season. Desi Rodriguez had 13 points and Ismael Sanogo yet again made a difference without scoring much, notching 16 rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks, and locking down Rutgers’ star forward, Deshawn Freeman (seven points).

“If you ask anybody on our team who the most valuable player is — day in, day out — they’ll say it’s Ish,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said.

Even in defeat, Rutgers (11-2) was impressive, proving its record is more than just the result of a soft schedule. Corey Sanders led the Knights with 17 points and Nigel Johnson had 16.

Willard warned his players this wasn’t the same Rutgers team it blitzed each of the last two years. At halftime, after trying to go one-on-one against the stalwart Knights defense, the message finally sunk in.

“I guess we just had to see it ourselves,” Carrington said.