Seton Hall aims to stay hot at home vs. Wagner

Field Level Media|published: Fri 17th November, 14:09 2023

Nov 6, 2023; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Seton Hall Pirates guard Dylan Addae-Wusu (0) dribbles in front of St. Peter's Peacocks guard Brent Bland (1) and guard Latrell Reid (0) during the second half at Prudential Center. credits: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Seton Hall isn't racking up the mileage on the road yet.

Instead, the Pirates are collecting passes at home.

Seton Hall will look to continue its impressive distribution on offense Saturday afternoon when it closes out a season-opening homestand by hosting local rival Wagner in Newark, N.J.

The Pirates are coming off a 96-71 win over Albany on Wednesday. Wagner dropped a 69-53 decision Tuesday to Rhode Island.

The 96 points on Wednesday were the most by Seton Hall (3-0) under second-year head coach Shaheen Holloway and its most against a Division I foe since a 98-92 overtime win over Penn State on Dec. 6, 2020.

Six players scored in double figures for the Pirates on Wednesday. Al-Amir Dawes led the way with 15 points in 26 minutes for Seton Hall, which had 17 assists on 36 field goals.

"I want the ball to move more," Holloway said. "I want to get, like, 200-230 passes a game. And I think if we can get that, everybody's happy, because everybody's touching the basketball."

Seton Hall hits the road for the first time next week. The Pirates are slated to spend Thanksgiving at the Rady Children's Invitational in San Diego, which features fellow high majors Southern California, Oklahoma and Iowa.

Spending time on the road is nothing new for Wagner (1-2), which was picked to finish fifth in the nine-team Northeast Conference. The Seahawks have just three home games during their non-conference schedule, including two against Division I foes.

Wagner also expects to rely on its defense this season as it did in 2022-23. The Seahawks lost just two games by more than 13 points — an 82-44 loss to Seton Hall on Nov. 20, 2022, and a 66-48 loss to eventual NCAA Tournament Cinderella Fairleigh Dickinson on Feb. 18.

"We won 15 games (last year) but every game was winnable except for Seton Hall," second-year head coach Donald Copeland told the Staten Island Advance earlier this month. "There was a chance to win every one. We never got into a groove offensively. I thought there was a lot of pressure on our defense, and our defense was good."

—Field Level Media

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