Jared Rhoden scored 18 points, Alexis Yetna had a double-double and No. 21 Seton Hall overcame a one-point halftime deficit to beat visiting Bethune-Cookman 84-70 on Sunday in Newark, N.J.
Yetna scored 14 points and grabbed 13 of the Pirates’ 42 rebounds. Seton Hall (5-1) found its groove in the final 12 minutes and utilized a 23-3 run to get away for good.
Joe French had a game-high 30 points to lead Bethune-Cookman (1-6), accounting for his team’s final 14 with the game far out of reach. Marcus Garrett added 11 points, all in the first half.
Seton Hall sank 20 of its 21 free throws, making a big difference in putting away a pesky opponent that exploited its lackadaisical defense during the first half.
After opening up a 27-19 lead, the Pirates let their opponents back in with a three-minute stretch of turnovers and ill-timed fouls. The Wildcats made three straight buckets to cut the lead to two.
Seton Hall moved back ahead by eight, but Bethune-Cookman ended the half on a 9-0 run and made four of its final five shots against a soft defense. That was enough to take a surprise 34-33 lead at halftime.
The Pirates made a paltry 3 of 17 3-pointers and gave up nine turnovers in the first half, while allowing the Wildcats to make 53.6 percent (15 of 28) from the field as a team.
Hall opened the second half on a 15-4 run, buoyed by fast-break layups by Kadary Richmond and Jamir Harris.
Bethune-Cookman drew within three twice more, but Yetna powered the Pirates’ late-game breakaway. Yetna hit a floater and went 4-for-4 on foul shots to ignite the 23-3 run.
Harris, Tyrese Samuel and Rhoden took turns knocking down 3-pointers to put the game away. Harris and Samuel each finished with 11 points.
–Field Level Media
