Roddie Anderson III scored 19 points, and Seton Hall made just enough free throws down the stretch to hold off Long Island 67-60 on Thursday night in South Orange, N.J.
Anderson, a transfer from Xavier, became the first Pirate to score at least 15 points in each of his first two games at Seton Hall since Eddie Griffin accomplished the feat during the 2000-01 season.
The Pirates (2-0) needed every point they could get against the determined Sharks (0-2). Long Island took a 58-57 lead with 3:09 remaining on a runner by Vasean Allette.
But on the next possession, Simeon Wilcher drove the lane and scored to put the Pirates back on top. Elijah Fisher made two free throws, then Wilcher added two more to give Seton Hall a 63-58 lead with 1:37 remaining.
Seton Hall went 8-for-10 from the free-throw line over the final 2:08 to seal the victory.
Allette led all scorers with 20 points for the Sharks. He also contributed seven rebounds and five assists. Xinyi Li scored 10 points off the bench for Long Island, including two 3-pointers. The Sharks were without two players expected to contribute, Matt Bewley and Jahki Howard, because of injuries.
Fisher finished with 12 points and five assists for Seton Hall. Forward Terry Copeland Jr. chipped in 10 points despite picking up his fourth foul with 17 minutes remaining.
Long Island opened the game 2-for-18 from the floor but took a 24-20 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the first half after a big dunk by Justin Johnson. Seton Hall immediately responded with an 8-0 run that included a 3-pointer by Wilcher and a three-point play by Rodney Brown Jr.
The Pirates led 30-26 at halftime.
Seton Hall pushed its advantage to 39-31 after a 3-pointer by Anderson with 15:23 remaining, but the Pirates were never able to pull away. Seton Hall committed 16 turnovers.
The Sharks shot 36.4% from the field and 5-for-21 from 3-point range, compared with 41% shooting and 6-for-21 from beyond the arc for the Pirates. Seton Hall won the rebounding battle 39-29.
–Field Level Media
