Box score
NEWARK, NJ—Seton Hall scored its third one-sided men's basketball victory in the last eight days, defeating NJIT, 68-45, Sunday night at the Prudential Center.
The Pirates (6-4) defeated UMass by 25 points on December 11 and Longwood by 27 points on December 13, before topping the Highlanders by 23 on Sunday night. Five of Seton Hall's six wins have been by margins of at least 20 points.
With seven different players appearing for at least 21 minutes and none for more than 26, Seton Hall got a game-high 14 points from freshman swingman Fuquan Edwin, who also led the Pirates with 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Senior Jeff Robinson added 10 points and 7 rebounds, while a trio of players chipped in 9 points apiece. Junior point guard Jordan Theodore contributed a career-best 10 assists, with just two turnovers in 23 minutes.
NJIT (2-6) had two double-figure scorers, getting 10 points each from Isaiah Wilkerson and PJ Miller. Wilkerson, the junior co-captain of the Highlanders, shared game rebounding honors, with nine.
The Highlanders scored the first basket of the game, a jump shot for Miller 13 seconds into the contest, but Seton Hall answered with seven quick points for a 7-2 lead at the 17:48 mark.
Down 12-5 at 16:16, NJIT used its best spurt of the game to tie the score at 12 on a jump shot by Ryan Regis with 14:31 on the first-half clock.
Seton Hall responded to that challenge with an 11-0 run over the next 3:04, putting itself in the lead the rest of the way.
The Pirates stretched their lead to 14 points, 32-18, after Edwin's fast-break layup off of a steal and pass from Patrik Auda with 3:09 left in the first half.
However, those would be the last points of the half for Seton Hall and NJIT closed the gap on a three-pointer for Wilkerson and then a three from Chris Flores, bringing the halftime score to 32-24.
The top scorers at the break were Edwin (9) and Robinson (7) for Seton Hall and Wilkerson (8) and Jheryl Wilson (7) for NJIT.
The outlook at halftime was as good as it got all night for the Highlanders, who had shot just 35 percent from the field (8-23), but trailed by only eight points. On defense, they had held Seton Hall scoreless over the last 3:09 of the half and to just eight points over the last 8:38.
But NJIT's outlook quickly turned sour, as Seton Hall scored 13 points before NJIT could make a basket coming out of halftime.
The Pirates went from an eight-point halftime lead to a 21-point lead in the opening 3:59 of the second half. Seton Hall got three-pointers on its first two shots and then a dunk for Ferrakohn Hall on its third shot. After a miss, the Pirates connected on another three and then Edwin made a steal and finished the play with a layup that made it 45-24 for SHU.
With the game well in hand, Seton Hall stretched its lead to a high of 28 points, 61-33, when Edwin made the first of two free throws with 6:40 left.
NJIT's faces another tall task next, when the Highlanders visit Maryland (7-4) on Wednesday, with tipoff scheduled for 8 pm.
