It was around this time last season, when Seton Hall, riding the hot hand of its talented lead guard, punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament by beating one ranked team after another.
Isaiah Whitehead isn’t around anymore, but Seton Hall has another tough-minded Brooklyn guard, Khadeen Carrington, who put on a performance better than any Whitehead produced a year ago.
The junior scored a career-high 41 points, to go along with seven assists, five rebounds and just one turnover, keying Seton Hall’s résumé-building 87-81 victory over No. 20 Creighton Wednesday night at Prudential Center.
Carrington’s running left-handed bank shot as he nearly fell to the court gave Seton Hall a 3-point lead with 41.0 seconds left. Carrington added six clutch free throws, and with Creighton trying to roll the ball up court to save time, he dove for the loose ball and threw down an exclamation-point dunk.
He had plenty of help from the Pirates’ other core juniors. Desi Rodriguez scored 18 points; Angel Delgado got the better of Creighton’s potential lottery pick Justin Patton, producing a double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds; and hobbled forward Ismael Sanogo, returning from an ankle injury, delivered his trademark defense and grabbed seven rebounds.
Despite shooting 50 percent from the field, out-rebounding Creighton and getting to the free-throw line 16 times, Seton Hall held just a one-point lead at halftime, an ominous sign. It didn’t take long for the Bluejays to take control after the break, quickly building a six-point lead.
As was the case in the first half, whenever it looked like Seton Hall had momentum, it couldn’t sustain its strong play, unable to take command the entire evening. It set up the final frantic minutes, the back and forth affair that featured eight ties and 16 lead changes not decided until the final minute.
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