Box Score
Postgame Press Conference Video
Wroblewski connected on 5-of-10 shots and was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line, while adding five rebounds and five assists. Adam Wire shot 5-for-5 from the floor and added 1-of-2 free throws as the only other Big Red player in double-figures with 11 points. Jeff Foote led the team with 10 rebounds and added three blocks to bolster the defense.
Seton Hall was led by Jeremy Hazell’s 33 points, while Jordan Theodore added 20. Robert Mitchell (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Herb Pope (11 points, 12 rebounds) both registered double-doubles.
Both teams were impressive from the floor with the Pirates connecting on 44.6 percent overall and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc, while Cornell shot 44.4 percent overall, but just 37.9 percent from 3-point range. Seton Hall outrebounded the Big Red, 43-36 and forced 13 Cornell turnovers with seven steals.
The home team jumped out to an 8-0 lead highlighted by consecutive treys by Wroblewski and Wittman after Tyler got the crowd jump-started by drawing a foul and hitting both charity shots. That would be the high-water mark, as the Pirates used a quick 8-0 run over 2:27 to tie it, then good the lead for good at 17-15 when Robert Mitchell put back an offensive rebound, one of 19 for the Pirates on the night. The visitors led by as many as nine in the first half, but after Cornell cut it to two, Pope drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Seton Hall into the break up 40-35.
The crowd had a buzz of its own, and despite the energy, Cornell wasn't able to mount the second half charge it is known for at home. The SHU lead hit double figures four minutes into the second half and grew to as many as 18 before a late second-half 3-point barrage got Cornell back within seven (79-72) with just over a minute to play. The Pirates scored some late free throws to open the margin back to 10 at the final whistle.
The Big Red return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. when it heads up I-81 to face nationally ranked Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.
By Brian Delaney
The Ithaca Journal
November 21, 2009
ITHACA -- Jeremy Hazell relished the opportunity to silence a rocking Newman Arena crowd Friday night. Boy, did he make the most of it.
The 6-foot-5 junior scored 20 of his game-high 33 points in the second half to lead Seton Hall to an 89-79 non-league basketball victory over host Cornell.
Hazell keyed a game-breaking 15-3 run as Seton Hall turned a five-point halftime lead into an 18-point advantage from that Cornell never recovered.
Hazell hit shot after shot against shorter defenders, jawing with the student section along the way and generally enjoying his role as antagonist. His intense nature was a microcosm of Seton Hall's determined approach to this game, a win that coach Bobby Gonzalez was thrilled to get. It ended Cornell's 21-game win streak at home, in front of an announced sellout of 4,600."We were just sensational," said Gonzalez, a Binghamton native. "Four guys in double figures. Jeremy was off the charts with 33 points."
Hazell made 12 of 25 shots, including five of 12 three-pointers. Jordan Theodore scored 20 points off the bench, and forwards Robert Mitchell and Herb Pope recorded double-doubles.
At the forefront of Cornell's first loss was a frustrating night for Louis Dale, who played 19-foul plagued minutes and finished with four points, three rebounds, two assists and two turnovers. His third, fourth and fifth fouls, picked up in the first, 12th and 17th minutes of the second half, were bad ones.
After fouling out late, Cornell coach Steve Donahue spent a prolonged moment with his senior point guard.
"He's had such a good preseason, he's had such a terrific first two games, he's probably disappointed in his play," Donahue said. "I'm disappointed just cause I couldn't keep him on the floor. I think we all know that when you play a team like Seton Hall, to be quite honest with you, we need Lou Dale on the floor."
While Cornell's 21-game win streak at home was ending, its next opponent was landing a mighty victory in the Big Apple. Syracuse knocked off No. 6 North Carolina, 87-71, at Madison Square Garden. Cornell and Syracuse meet Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome, the second of what could be three games against Big East teams this year for the Big Red.Seton Hall showed why it's considered a team that can make noise in the Big East, erasing an early 8-0 deficit and capitalizing on an ice-cold shooting stretch by Cornell in the second half.
After a Jeff Foote bucket cut Cornell's deficit to 48-40 with 17 minutes to play, the Big Red missed 10 straight shots -- most quality looks. Seton Hall, meanwhile, methodically worked for good looks on offense while turning long Cornell rebounds intro transition points.
Back-to-back dunks by Ferrakohn Hall and Pope, a Hazell jumper and an offensive putback by John Garcia pushed the Pirates' lead to 58-40.
"There were a couple moments in the second half where, if we can hit a couple shots, if we don't turn the ball over, we can score and get a stop we could really make it a much tougher game for them," Cornell forward Ryan Wittman said. "Unfortunately we couldn't make those plays."Still, Cornell had a couple runs left in the tank.
A three-point play by Chris Wroblewski (22 points) ignited a quick 7-0 burst, forcing Gonzalez to take a timeout. But shortly thereafter, Hazell continued his terrorizing of the Big Red backcourt with a 3, a putback inside and a dunk in transition. Each time Cornell ebbed, Hazell brought the flow.
"It just feels good," Hazell said. "You feel every time you touch it, it's going to go in. It's like throwing a pebble in the ocean."
Wittman, who was held to four points in Wednesday night's 74-61 win at Massachusetts, finished with a team-high 24 points. Chris Wroblewski added five rebounds and five assists to his career-high 22 points.
Seton Hall toed the line of building a substantial lead on multiple occasions in the first half, but Cornell always had an answer or two to stay within striking distance.
Moments after Seton Hall led by nine, Mark Coury blocked Mitchell's driving layup attempt, then finished an eight-foot floater in the lane at the other end to make it 37-35.
But Pope finished off an electric first half with a 3 from the top of the key. The shot was Cornell's night in a nut shell -- get close, only to have Seton Hall pull away.
Out of reach: Sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski (3) scored 22 points and led the team with five assists against Seton Hall.Alex Kuczynski-Brown
Cornell Daily Sun
November 23, 2009
Cornell’s 21-game home win streak –– the fifth-longest among all Division 1 teams –– came to an abrupt end on Friday night, as the Red dropped a hard-fought contest to Seton Hall, 89-79, in its home opener. The Pirates, who were making their first-ever visit to Newman Arena, improve to 3-0 on the season, while the Red’s non-conference record now stands at 2-1.
Junior guard Jeremy Hazell, who finished second in the Big East and 10th in the nation in scoring with 22.7 points per game in 2008-09, led both teams with 33 points on the night. At the other end, after leading Cornell with 24 points on Wednesday against UMass, senior guard Louis Dale was held to just four points and found himself in foul trouble, only seeing 19 minutes of action.
“When you play a team like Seton Hall –– a Big East team –– you’re not going to get away with one of your better players not playing much, and Lou didn’t play much,” said head coach Steve Donahue. “Obviously, [if] he’s there, he’s playing more minutes, and we have a better shot.”
A block from senior center Jeff Foote set the tone early, as the Red defense held Seton Hall scoreless in the first three and a half minutes of play. Meanwhile, senior captain Alex Tyler drew a foul and converted on both free throw attempts, and back-to-back 3’s from sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski and senior forward Ryan Wittman propelled the Red to a quick 8-0 advantage.However, the Pirates would respond following a timeout, as sophomore forward Herb Pope got his team on the board with a jumper. Some costly Cornell turnovers led to easy baskets for the opposition, who were able to pull even at 8-8 with 14:07 remaining on a layup by sophomore guard Jordan Theodore. Theodore would finish the night with a career-high 20 points off the bench.
The teams exchanged leads back-and-forth until junior forward Robert Mitchell put back an offensive rebound –– one of 19 for the Pirates –– to put Seton Hall ahead for good. Mitchell and Pope both registered double-doubles with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 points, 12 rebounds, respectively.
Although the Pirates’ lead swelled to as much as nine in the first half, a layup by Foote –– who led Cornell with 10 rebounds and three blocks –– followed by a Wroblewski 3-pointer and a jumper by senior forward Mark Coury cut the deficit to two. However, just when it appeared that the Red was going to head into halftime down by only a basket, Pope drained a 3 with seven seconds remaining to send both teams to the locker room with the Pirates in front, 40-35.
“We didn’t play great defense ... we were tentative a little bit there,” Donahue said. “What hurt was ... we allowed so many offensive rebounds in the first half. ... And when we did penetrate, we didn’t challenge shots enough like we did the last couple games, and they made them.”
As the game progressed, the Red found itself unable to contain Hazell, who scored 20 of his 33 points in the second half, and was 5-for-12 from beyond the arc for the contest.
“What Jeremy did out there was remarkable,” said Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez.
“We knew he was a very good scorer,” Donahue added. “He’s a guy who takes a lot of hard shots. ... He’s catch-and-shoot when you don’t expect him.”
In a press conference following the game, Hazell described being in that kind of zone as “like throwing a pebble in the ocean ... every time you touch [the ball], you know it’s going in.”
About six minutes into the second period, senior center John Garcia gave the Pirates their largest lead of the game, 58-40, on an offensive rebound that he converted into a layup.
“I think maybe they got a little comfortable with a 15-16 point lead there a couple times in the second half,” Wittman said. “There were a couple moments ... where, if we can hit a couple shots and we don’t turn the ball over ... we really make it a much tougher game for them –– they’re back on their heels a little more.”
Indeed, back-to-back treys from freshman forward Errick Peck –– making his Newman Arena debut –– and Wittman, along with two good free throw attempts from Wroblewski, brought the Red within seven with 1:18 to play. However, that would be the closest the Red would get, as the Pirates were able to capitalize on key opportunities from the free throw line with time expiring.
Despite the loss, there were some positives to be gleaned from Friday’s contest. After being held to only four points against UMass, Wittman rebounded in a big way, notching a team-leading 24 points and contributing four assists while shooting 6-for-15 from beyond the arc.
Wroblewski also had a breakout performance in the home opener, registering 22 points while adding five assists and five rebounds to top off a 3-for-7 showing from 3-point range. He was also a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
According to Donahue, sometimes opposing teams are so focused on Wittman and Dale that they fail to pay attention to Wroblewski, who needs to be ready to take advantage of those opportunities like he did on Friday.
Junior forward Adam Wire provided a spark off the bench for Cornell, securing 11 points and five rebounds to become the third Red player in double-figures.
Both teams were comparable from the floor, with the Pirates shooting 44.6 percent overall –– on par with the Red’s 44.4 percent. However, Seton Hall won the battle from downtown, connecting on 41.2 percent of shots compared to Cornell’s 37.9 percent. The Pirates also out-rebounded the Red, 43-36, and forced 13 Cornell turnovers with seven steals, compared to eight and three, respectively.
“We lost tonight because we didn’t play well. They played well, they played better than us,” Donahue said. “I’m disappointed we lost, but in reality, I think in two months we’re going to look back at this game and say, ‘A Big East team came in here, and they were excited that they beat us, and we learned from it, and we became a better basketball team because of it.’”
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Sophomore Jordan Theodore (Englewood, N.J.) fired a career-high 20 points and dished out four assists. Herb Pope (Aliquippa, Pa.) notched his second straight double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Robert Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also recorded a double-double with 14 and 10 rebounds.
Cornell, playing in their home opener, raised their second consecutive Ivy League championship banner prior to the game. The Big Red scored the first eight points of the game on the strength of three-pointers from Chris Wroblewski and Ryan Wittman. Pope ended the Pirates' drought with a jumper in the lane to score the first points of the game for Seton Hall at the 16:30 mark. Seton Hall would use the Pope jumper as a catalyst to go on an 8-0 run of their own, highlighted by six points and a pair of steals by Theodore, to tie the game at eight with 14:00 minutes remaining in the first half.
Five straight points by Cornell boosted the Big Red to a 15-13 lead with 10:35 left in the first, but the Pirates stormed back with a 7-0 run including four points by Mitchell to push Seton Hall to their largest lead of the night so far, 21-15, with 8:05 before halftime.
With the Pirates up 21-17, Hazell hit a three-pointer in the corner, was fouled and completed a four-point play. Over a 2:39 stretch late in the first half, Hazell scored 11 straight Seton Hall points including a jumper that pushed the Pirates lead to 32-24 with 4:09 remaining in the first half.
Seton Hall stretched the lead to as many as nine, 35-26 with 3:00 to go before halftime, but the Big Red went on a 9-2 run and pulled to within two, 37-35, on a put-back by Mark Coury. A three-pointer by Pope with only two seconds remaining in the half sent the Pirates into halftime with a 40-35 lead.
Theodore led the Pirates and nearly set a career-high with 14 points in the first half. Hazell scored 13 points, while Pope had five points and eight rebounds.
As a team, Seton Hall was 47.1% from the field and made 4-of-10 from behind the three-point arc. Cornell was even better from the floor, shooting 52.0%.
The Pirates came out strong in the second half. Another three-pointer by Hazell with 17:58 remaining in regulation pushed the lead to nine, 46-37. Two minutes later, senior Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.) found freshman Ferrakohn Hall (Memphis, Tenn.) who dunked the ball and increased the Pirates lead to 52-40 with 15:35 left. The dunk was part of a 10-0 Seton Hall run which pushed the lead to 58-40, with 11:57 remaining in regulation.
Down 18, Cornell did not go away. The Big Red went on a 9-0 capped by a put-back by Adam Wire and cut the Pirates lead in half, 58-49, with 9:13 left to play. Hazell and Wittman traded three-pointers and then Hazell scored on consecutive possessions to push the Pirates lead to 13 with 8:03 left to play.
Cornell would threaten, but mounted no serious runs late as Seton Hall remained perfect on the young season.
Ryan Wittman led Cornell with 24 points.
The Pirates shot 44.6% from the floor for the game, and just edged Cornell, who shot 44.4%. Seton Hall out-rebounded the Big Red, 43-to-36, and forced more turnovers, 13-to-8.
Seton Hall will now begin a string of nine consecutive home games starting with LIU on Saturday, November 28. Game time is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
The Tip In: Analyzing Seton Hall's 89-79 win over Cornell
1. How did Seton Hall win this tough road game?
It's going to sound ridiculous, but Jordan Theodore made three baskets in the first six minutes of the game were the difference between the Pirates winning and losing. In front of a raucous Cornell crowd — the Big Red unfurled their Ivy League championship and NCAA Tournament banners from last season during their season-opener — the Pirates were down 8-0 right out of the gate. Two free-throws and two 3-pointers and it looked like Seton Hall would be in for a long night. But then Theodore hit a jumper at the 15:40 mark, then followed it up with two fast break lay-ups in the next 64 seconds and just like that, it was 8-8. It leveled the ship and eased Seton Hall's nerves and showed that they could win in an atmosphere like Newman Arena. After Theodore's baskets Seton Hall trailed for 23 seconds the rest of the way. Still think it's ridiculous to say those three early baskets won the game?
2. So was that it for Theodore's night?
Oh, hardly. The sophomore point guard finally broke out of his early-season slump for a career-high 20 points. But he did the majority of his damage in the first half, scoring 14 of his 20 points and helping the Pirates overtake and then hold off Cornell. His play at the point guard spot was equally superb. For the first two games of the year — including his first-ever start last Friday against Saint Peter's — Theodore looked tentative and shaky controlling this team. His ball-handling was spotty (even though he only turned the ball over twice) and loose. Coach Bobby Gonzalez said he hadn't been playing well, but because Eugene Harvey was, Theodore absence wasn't a big deal. But he certainly came up big when the Pirates needed it the most — Friday night.
3. Okay, is this a legitimate resume win for an NCAA campaign?
No question. Now, the NCAA part is still a ways off, but if the dominos fall right for Seton Hall — and with a non-conference slate that features eight games against teams that are right now a combined 8-11 — this could prove to be a big chip in the Pirates' pile. Cornell is a legitimate NCAA contender, even if they were to not win the Ivy. (There's a good chance the Big Red wins the Ivy for the third straight season, though.) But Cornell will boost Seton Hall's RPI because they play such a tough non-conference slate with road games at Syracuse, Bucknell, St. John's, LaSalle and Kansas and a home game against Saint Joseph's. That will work heavily in Seton Hall's favor — now they just have to keep winning.
GAME BALLS
Jeremy Hazell (33 pts., 3 reb., 2 stl.): Was simply brilliant last night. On some nights you can question his point totals because of his shot selections, but Friday night he was dead-on. Cornell simply couldn't figure out how to defend him properly.
Herb Pope (11 pts., 12 reb., 3 blk., 2 ast.): How this for a crazy stat: Seton Hall as a team had 19 offensive rebounds Friday night at Newman — Pope had half of them.
Ryan Wittman (24 pts., 4 ast.): It's hard to truly appreciate what kind of player Wittman is until you watch him in person. He's a beautiful shooter and a high-major kind of weapon.
SUICIDES
Eugene Harvey (0 pts., 2 reb., 2 ast.): Game 1 he was superb (duh, game-winning shot), Game 2 he was solid, but Friday night he just looked in a fog. Gonzalez said he got down on himself after and early start and Theodore's excellent play. That just can't happen.
Louis Dale (4 pts., 3 reb., 2 ast.): The Ivy League POY two years ago was nowhere to be found Friday, getting into foul trouble early before fouling out. Coach Steve Donahue said it best: in order to beat a team like Seton Hall, Dale needs to play well.
Seton Hall free-throw shooting: Once (St. Peter's, 54.5%) is a forgettable, twice (Monmouth, 64%) is a coincidence. But three times (Cornell, 61.5%) is a sure thing. The Pirates need to shoot the ball better from the charity stripe. Fortunately it hasn't cost them yet, but at some point — if they keep this up — it will.
NEWS, NOTES AND QUOTES
The News
During the game, Pirates point guard Eugene Harvey just didn't look himself on the floor, only playing 16 forgettable minutes. Coach Bobby Gonzalez said that part of it was due to the senior feeling under the weather. "He was a little sick. I think he just got down on himself a little bit," Gonzalez said after the game.
This was a homecoming of sorts for Gonzalez Friday, who is from Binghamton and spent time as an assistant at Binghamton University and Broome County College. He was able to get a win in front of a number of friends and family.
The Notes
Double your pleasure, double your fun. That was certainly the case Friday night as the Pirates had two players notch double-doubles against Cornell: Pope (14 pts., 10 reb.) and Robert Mitchell (11 pts., 12 reb.). That's the first time the Pirates have had two players with a double-double since Game 2 of last season against (ironically, enough) Columbia. It was Eugene Harvey and John Garcia that night. ... Until Friday night, Seton Hall hadn't allowed a 20-point scorer in its two games. They allowed two (Ryan Wittman and Chris Wroblewski) against the Big Red. ... Seton Hall decreased its turnovers for the third straight game. So far they've had 15, then 14 and eight Friday night. ... Cornell blocked seven Pirates shots Friday night, but Herb Pope was victimized five times. ... The last time Seton Hall allowed 11 3-pointers? Jan. 22 in an overtime win against Providence. ... Something to keep an eye on: when Jeremy Hazell usually goes for for 30-plus point, he keeps up the pace the next game. In the six times Hazell has score 30 or more points, only once — Feb. 23, 2008 vs. DePaul — had he not scored at least 23 points the next game.
The Quotes
"It just feels good. You just think that every time you touch it, to shoot it. It's just like throwing a pebble in an ocean."
-- HAZELL on what it's like when he's in a zone, shooting-wise
"I just wanted to go out there and spread the energy. We were down 8-zip. So to just come out there and bring a spark — I just wanted to contribute in any way that I could."
-- THEODORE on coming off the bench to steady Seton Hall early
"I try to do (all the) little (things). You know, he got 33 — I didn't know. I just kept seeing him make shots and every time we were running down the court, I kept telling him, 'Keep shooting! Keep shooting! I'll find you open however I got to do it.'"
-- POPE on trying to get Hazell the ball
"He's catch-and-shoot, when you don't expect him. And he's driving and trying to make a hard one, so if you let your guard down — which I thought we did on a couple plays — he gets his feet set and he's like, 'I'm open, I'm shooting.' Obviously, we're not used to guys doing that too often."
-- STEVE DONAHUE on the difficulty in defending a free-wheeling shooter like Hazell
"Well, I think it should. Their RPI at the end of last year was something like 32 and I looked at Sports Illustrated a week ago and they had them at 52. So they're an NCAA, I've got to believe; they're probably going to win their league. They play other very good teams — Syracuse, St. John's — they're a tremendous team."
-- GONZALEZ on what Friday's win does for a potential March resume
RIDICULOUS STAT OF THE GAME
7
That's the number of times that Seton Hall was sent to the line by Cornell in the final 3:10 of the game for two foul shots and only came away with one point. Five different players were the culprits over that stretch, which was crucial to the Big Red making the game interesting. If the Pirates want to go places this season, they can't afford to trade 1-point baskets for 2- or 3-point ones. It won't add up.
ITHICA, N.Y. — Striking as it may seem now, Seton Hall's 89-79 win over Cornell on a chilly night in Ithica, N.Y. may just have significance in March.
It sounds like lunacy, but could end up being more than just crazy talk. It was not easy though. Jeremy Hazell had to finally find his stroke, going off for 11 straight points and finishing with 33 points on 12-25 shooting. Five of those came from behind the three-point arc, each one a dagger to Cornell's chances and giving him the upper hand in his mini-battle with the home crowd.
It had coach Bobby Gonzalez comparing him to Reggie Miller after the game.
Still they needed Herb Pope to dominate the game in every other way, stuffing the box score with 11 points, 12 rebounds (eight on the offensive end), three blocks, two assists and a steal.
But nobody said a win over a team headed for March was going to be a cakewalk, and they will definitely take it. As evidenced by the jubilation from the bench when the clock hit zero.
That, of course, was the plan for Gonzalez when they scheduled the Big Red. But plans have a tendency of going awry. Especially when they have their faults from the preparation stage.
Laudable as Cornell may be, Orange, not their hue of red, has been the only color that mattered when it comes to basketball in upstate New York. Newman Arena was built about 54 miles away from mattering.
And let's not forget, Cornell is still in the Ivy League.
But as has become the trend in college basketball, it's time to throw out the prejudices and understand the reality.
Cornell is a good team. They proved it when they went down to Alabama, picked third in the SEC West, and then up to Massachusetts, picked to finish second in the Atlantic-10, and won both times.
Still it Gonzalez does not think people will really understand the importance of what his team did by going into Newman Arena and ending Cornell's 22-game home winning streak.
"I don't because I don't think nationally people are probably going to understand how good of a team Cornell is," said Gonzalez. "I was in the mid-major and you see teams like Siena and what we did at Manhattan. You watch what Cornell has done, I've talked to some people on the phone this week and they told me they might be one of the best Ivy League teams that's come around in 15-20 years. As good as Pete Carrill's teams [at Princeton] or any of Fran Dunphy's teams [at Penn]."
Hazell realized how important the victory is, and thinks everyone else should as well.
"I hope they do," said Hazell. "Coming up here, a big east team would never come up here to play Cornell, knowing how good they are. We took a chance to come up here to show what we're about."
And to do so he had to shed his early shooting woes and play like the same guy who finished last season as the second-leading scorer in the Big East.
He started shooting like few can.
"You just think every time you touch it, it's going in. Like shooting a pebble into the ocean," said Hazell. "Every time I get it up, I thought I would get it in."
His teammates and his coaches told him to keep shooting, so he did.
For a time there it looked like he was just going back and forth, shot for shot, with Cornell's marksman Ryan Wittman. He knew it and embraced it.
"When you got two great players on two different teams, you do want to outscore that other great player on the other team. You do want to hit shots if he hits shots. Make plays if he makes plays," said Hazell. "But I was just in the zone right there. Going for my team, going for the win. I was going for the jugular."
Hazell had to because he knew the significance of the game for his team, as early in the season as it may be.
"We had heard the talk that maybe if we lose, this could be a game that people would bring back to haunt us if we're on the bubble down the road and then people said if we win, we're supposed to win," said Gonzalez. "We heard all of that and we just said look we're going to come in here and we're going to play. We want to show that we're a Big East team and we know that a lot of Big East teams don't take chances like this so we wanted to come out and get a special performance."
That they did and this is a win that can look a whole lot better in March with Syracuse, Kansas, and possibly St. John's still left on their schedule. Sports Illustrated ranked them 52nd in the entire nation and Gonzalez thinks the NCAA Tournament will be their ultimate landing. Seton Hall hopes to be in that same bracket. He expects brighter lights in the future.
"We got some big players and we're going to win some big games down the road," said Gonzalez. "I think we learned a little bit last year with USC and Georgetown. We got a little glimpse. But I think this year's team has got a chance to do some special things."
And for that chance, they needed to win this game.
Seton Hall knocks off Cornell, 89-79, as Jeremy Hazell scores 33
ITHACA, N.Y. — Jeremy Hazell was asked to explain what it feels like when he gets into one of those dazzling shooting streaks where it doesn’t seem to matter where he is on the court or who is guarding him.
“It’s like throwing a pebble in the ocean,” Seton Hall’s 6-5 junior said.
That’s how easy every shot feels.
At times, it looked that easy Friday night for Hazell, who had two impressive shooting stretches on the way to a 33-point performance to help the Pirates improve to 3-0 with a surprisingly easy 89-79 victory over Cornell at Newman Arena.
And before anyone dismisses the show he put on because it came at the expense of an Ivy League opponent, know this: What he and his teammates accomplished against the Big Red is something that will resonate in March, when RPIs are calculated and quality victories tabulated.
This was a Cornell team that had won 21 straight home games — the fifth-longest streak in the country — and was coming off road wins at Alabama and Massachusetts.
With four senior starters, Cornell is also expecting a third straight NCAA trip in March.
“This was a great win for us,” said Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez, who had 88 relatives and friends from nearby Binghamton, N.Y., his hometown, at the game. “I talked to some people on the phone this week and they said it might be the best Ivy League team to come around in the past 15 or 20 years.”
But it was one that couldn’t match the Pirates’ athleticism, depth or offensive power — at least not on this night.
“I hope they do,” Hazell said when asked if he thought outsiders would appreciate the victory. “A Big East team would never come up here and play Cornell, knowing how good they are. We took a chance. We wanted to show what we were about.”
Hazell, who shot 0-for-10 in the Pirates’ opener, was in one of those rarefied zones that even had Gonzalez reduced to the role of spectator at times.
Even so, it took the early work of reserve point guard Jordan Theodore and the boxscore-stuffing efforts of Herb Pope have Hazell in a position to be a show stopped.
Theodore provided immediate energy and offense when he came off the bench with the Pirates facing a quick 8-0 deficit to start. He scored six points then on the way to a career-high 20 and settled things down until his teammates caught up with him.
“I just wanted to go out and bring some energy,” said Theodore. “We were down 8-0. I just wanted to come out and bring a spark.”
Pope, meanwhile, had 12 rebounds (eight offensive), three blocks and two assists. He struggled with his shot (4-for-14) but still scored 11 points.
And that helped set the stage for Hazell — along with a double-double from Robert Mitchell (14 points, 10 rebounds).
Hazell scored 11 straight Seton Hall points in one first-half stretch — highlighted by a rare four-point play, when he fell into the scorer’s table and was fouled on a made 3-pointer — as the Pirates opened a 32-24 lead.
Then he seemed to engage in a game of one-upmanship with Cornell star Ryan Wittman (24 points) in a 3-point show. After Seton Hall’s 18-point second half lead was reduced to nine, Hazell scored 12 of Seton Hall’s next 14 points.
“A remarkable shooting display,” Gonzalez said. “There were a couple of possessions where I was caught up watching the game like a fan.”
Cornell jumped out to an 8-0 lead three minute in, but Seton Hall point guard Jordan Theodore led the Pirates on an 8-0 run to tie the game. 6 offensive rebounds by Herb Pope allowed the Pirates to stay in the game despite poor shooting early, and once the Pirates found their stroke, they never looked back.
“We simply lost tonight because we didn't play well,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue noted. Donahue blamed some sloppy play and poor shooting for the loss.
Ryan Wittman led Cornell with 24 points, including 6-15 from behind the arc. Wittman led a late charge by Cornell to cut the Seton Hall lead from 17 to 8 with just over two minutes left.
Jeremy Hazell led Seton Hall with 33 points, including 5-12 from three. He noted that at 6'4", he was able to shoot effectively over the shorter Cornell guards
Cornell shot 44% from the field. Seton Hall had a 43-36 advantage on the boards and shot 39 free throws to Cornell's 13.
“If we could get a score and a stop, we could make it a closer game,” Wittman said, noting that Seton Hall was able to score at crucial moments in the second half.
Cornell shot 38% from 3-point range, not a bad percentage. However, they made several threes in the final five minutes when they were down by double digits. Seton Hall was able to build such lead in part because the Red missed a myriad of open looks throughout the first fifteen minutes of the second half.
Donahue also recognized the importance of point guard Louis Dale missing much of the game due to foul trouble, saying “We need Lou Dale on the court” against a team like Seton Hall.
Donahue noted that Seton Hall, a Big East team, was thrilled to get a win against Cornell, showing that the Pirates recognize the strength of Cornell's program. In fact, Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said after the game that this win should help his team's resume when it comes to choosing the field for the NCAA Tournament in March.
The loss moves Cornell to 2-1. They next play Tuesday at Syracuse. You can hear that game on WVBR 93.5-FM or online at WVBR.com.
Live blog: Seton Hall at Cornell
9:09 p.m. - FINAL: Seton Hall 89, Cornell 79.
9:06 p.m. - This one is all over except for the final score, Cornell can't get enough to get back at the Pirates. 88-77 right now.
9:03 p.m. - Cornell's strategy is to foul Seton Hall over and over until they can hit enough 3s. With Pirates going 1 for 2 on every trip, it's a smart play.
8:59 p.m. - Mitchell clangs another FT for Seton Hall - Pirates have been abysmal from the line tonight. Don't have the numbers yet, but they won't be pretty I promise. 79-72 Pirates with 1:17 left.
8:56 p.m. - Theodore sprinted down for a quick layup, getting past the Cornell D, but Wittman came back down and hit another 3-pointer. 78-70 Pirates. 1:28 left to play.
8:55 p.m. - Herb Pope loses his man, freshman Errick Peck off the bench and he drained a 3-pointer to cut Pirate lead to nine - shortest margin in a long time. 76-67 Seton Hall with 1:43 left.
8:54 p.m. - That'll hurt Cornell's comeback chances: 7-footer Jeff Foote just fouled out with 2 minutes left. 76-64 Pirates.
8:52 p.m. - Cornell with an answer in the form of a Ryan Wittman 3-pointer from the corner in front of big Red bench. 75-64 Pirates with 2:30 left in this one.
8:50 p.m. - This one is getting to the point of no return for Cornell: 74-59 Pirates with 3:31 left to play.
8:44 p.m. - Jeremy Hazell is closing in on a new career high. Previous high was 35 — twice, last time on January 29 of last year against Rutgers. Right now he's down for an (unofficial) 33 points with 3:57 still left to play. 72-57 Pirates.
8:38 p.m. - Hazell hit another wacky, falling-away shot. Cornell fan behind me just yelled "Put a hand in his face!!" Honestly, I don't know if that would have made a darn bit of difference. 68-54 Pirates with 6:01 left.
8:35 p.m. - Herb Pope just picked up his fourth foul of the game at the 7:12 mark. He'll likely be done for a few minutes -- until at least the 3 minute mark or sooner if Cornell gets closer. 65-54 Seton Hall.
8:33 p.m. - Hazell and Wittman trade 3's. 61-52 Seton Hall with 8:25 left.
8:30 p.m. - Cornell making a run of it as Wittman gets a baseline runner to fall. After getting to 58 points, Seton Hall has now cooled off while Cornell has scored 7 straight. 58-47 with 9:44 left.
8:28 p.m. - Not really sure if Gonzalez is saving Theodore for the final minutes or what, but Eugene Harvey has looked positively awful tonight. He looks about 3 steps behind everyone else and half-asleep at times. Bad ball-handling in his limited minutes so far, too. 58-45 Seton Hall with 9:58 left.
8:25 p.m. - Cornell just missed nine straight shots, before Wroblewski made a layup and got the foul on Pope. Until that point, the Pirates had just been pouring it on. 58-42 right now with 11:29 left.
8:21 p.m. - Pirates extend the lead to 16 at 56-40, as Harvey finds Pope who slipped behind the defense. Then Hazell went in for a lay-in. Cornell, by the way, has gone ice cold — from everywhere.
8:14 p.m. - Seton Hall is taking a unique approach so far in the second half: the Pirates seem to be going right to the basket on possessions, trying to make Cornell slide in and draw fouls. It's a good strategy for a Cornell team that doesn't go that deep. 52-40 Pirates with 15:35 left, timeout Cornell -- biggest lead of the night for either team.
8:10 p.m. - Hazell with a quick 6 points right out of the halftime gate. 46-37 Pirates.
HALFTIME STATS
Seton Hall
Theodore: 14 pts, 3 reb., 2 ast.
Hazell: 13 pts., ast.
Pope: 5 pts., 8 reb. (6 o-reb.), 3 blks., 2 ast.
FG: 16-34 (47.1%)
3Pt FG: 4-10 (40%)
FT: 4-9 (44.4%)
Cornell
Wittman: 10 pts., 2 ast.
Wroblewski: 8 pts., 2 reb., 2 ast.
Foote: 4 pts., 6 reb., 2 blk.
FG: 13-25 (52.0%)
3Pt FG: 5-9 (55.6%)
FT: 4-4 (100%)
7:48 p.m. - HALFTIME: Seton Hall 40, Cornell 35.
Herb Pope drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 3.7 seconds left in the half to give the Pirates a little bit of breathing room heading into the locker room. Cornell had been on a 5-0 run until then and had cut the lead to 2 points.
7:44 p.m. - 3:41 left in the half right now and Seton Hall has a 32-24 lead — it's biggest of the night. Jeremy Hazell seems to have flipped that switch of his, hitting 3 straight baskets before the last media timeout.
7:39 p.m. - Great war of words right now between Robert Mitchell of Seton Hall and Cornell's Ryan Wittman. Fun to watch.
7:37 p.m. - Hazell drains another one of those "Hazell Shots" where he fell back off a 3-pointer, nailed it and then got the foul. 28-22 Seton Hall with 5:38 left in the half.
7:35 p.m. - Layup +1 by Adam Wire draws Cornell to within four at 21-17 with 6:54 left in the half.
7:29 p.m. - Robert Mitchell drains a long jumper and it's a timeout for Cornell. 21-15 Seton Hall with 8:05 left in the half.
7:24 p.m. - Flat-out dumb thing to do there by Pope. After getting blocked for the third time tonight, he started barking back to the student section. Then he got beat by breakaway layup by Louis Dale. Gonzalez then called a timeout. That's precisely the thing you can't do against Cornell — lose your cool.
7:21 p.m. - Whoa. Serious blockage by Herb Pope on Cornell's Mark Coury. Just came out of nowhere and swatted that layup attempt into the third row of the stands. 11-10 Seton Hall with 11:33 left in the first half.
7:19 p.m. - Jeremy Hazell makes (and takes) a shot that only Jeremy Hazell can take (and make). 11-10 Seton Hall, Pirates take their first lead on a Theodore FT.
7:16 p.m. - Jordan Theodore gets the Pirates right back into the game with three straight baskets, the last two on fast-breaks. 10-8 Cornell.
7:12 p.m. - Pope with a basket at the 16:34 mark. First points for the Hall. 8-2 Cornell.
7:11 p.m. - Timeout Seton Hall.
Boy, do they need it. Nothing dropping for the Pirates and Ryan Wittman just drilled Cornell's second trey of the game. 8-0 Big Red. 0-for-4 shooting for Pirates.
7:11 p.m. - Seton Hall's thee offensive possessions so far? 0-for-5 shooting, 3 blocked shots, 2 fouls.
7:09 p.m. - Pope blocked again and Cornell comes down and hits a 3-pointer by Chris Wroblewski. 5-0 Big Red.
7:03 p.m. - Pirates F Herb Pope gets blocked underneath and on ensuring Cornell possession, Cornell F Alex Tyler gets fouled by Hazell. Tyler sinks both, 2-0 Cornell.
7:00 p.m. - Underway here at Newman Arena on Cornell's campus (Hello, Newman?) where the Big Red's Ivy League champs banner from last season was unfurled by 101-year old alum Sterling McAdams. Still going strong.
CAN YOU REMEMBER THE LAST TIME….
Seton Hall Men's Hoops, Game 3: Seton Hall at Cornell
Here are the starting lineups for Friday night's game between Seton Hall (2-0; 0-0 in the Big East) and Cornell (2-0; 0-0 in the Ivy):
Cornell Big Red
Head coach: Steve Donahue (10th season)
2008-09 Record: 21-10 (11-3 Ivy)
Starting Lineup
G- Louis Dale
G- Chris Wroblewski
G- Ryan Wittman
F- Alex Tyler
C- Jeff Foote
Seton Hall Pirates
Head coach: Bobby Gonzalez (4th season)
2008-09 Record: 17-15 (7-11 Big East)
Starting Lineup
G- Eugene Harvey
G- Jeremy Hazell
F- Robert Mitchell
F- Herb Pope
C- John Garcia
The Quick Three
1. Ball security
Sounds like a football game, right? Well, not here in Newman Arena. Cornell is arguably the most fundamentally-sound team that the Pirates will play this season. The won't make many mistakes and they won't miss many shots. What Seton Hall can't do is give this team any extra opportunities to do so. Otherwise, they will end up paying for it.
2. Smart play
Hate to keep harping on the same topic, but Cornell will beat you if you give them extra opportunities to do so. Big Red shoots nearly 80 percent from the free-throw line, which means that the Pirates can't afford to get into foul trouble. Yes, this is a much deeper team than last year, so they can absorb foul losses easier but best-case scenario is just to not play that game. It won't end well.
3. Fast start
This will be Cornell's home opener; the Big Red is coming off a two big non-conference wins to start the year over Alabama and Massachusetts. They will be unveiling the banners for last season's Ivy League championships as well as NCAA Tournament appearance. This is a packed house and will be loud. Seton Hall needs to hit a few big baskets early and take the life out of the crowd. That will make this night a whole lot easier.
NJ-NY Rivalry Weekend: Coming to a local area near you
Seton Hall Pirates versus Cornell Big Red (college basketball)
Seton Hall will travel to Ithaca, NY to play Ivy League champion Cornell tonight at 7. Seton Hall and Cornell may not be a rivalry, but the matchup is an extra part of the New Jersey-New York duel. Both schools are 2-0 and look to go undefeated against non-conference schools.
Seton Hall has a 10-game winning streak against Ivy League schools. Their last game against an Ivy League school was last season when they defeated Columbia 71-50.
Cornell this season has a senior dominated squad with five returning starters. The Big Red is led by forward Ryan Wittman. Wittman in the season opener against Alabama scored 23 points with three assists in the team's 71-67 effort.
Seton Hall last played Cornell in 1992 at the old Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford. The Pirates dominated the game with a 75-59 blowout.
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