Seton Hall was in a rush to get the ball inside to Eugene Teague in the first half Sunday, but slowed its offense down enough after the break to get the ball into the hands of Fuquan Edwin.
The 6-foot-9 Teague scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half and Edwin followed with 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half of Seton Hall’s 76-61 victory over Saint Peter’s.
“I thought we slowed down the offense and let everything materialize, and we got good shots,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “We rushed things too much in the first half.”
The 6-6 Edwin was limited by foul trouble in the first half, when he scored seven points in eight minutes for Seton Hall (5-1). Despite picking up his third foul with 17:11 left in the second half, Edwin managed to play the entire 20 minutes, knocking down 7 of 9 shots, including two 3-pointers.
“It was tough watching the game,” Edwin said. “I just had to keep my composure and not gamble so much. I was just trying to be aggressive on offense and get into the lane.”
Edwin contributed 11 points during a 24-7 surge that pushed the Pirates’ lead to 59-45 with 10:12 showing. Teague’s big first half kept Seton Hall within striking distance of Saint Peter’s, which led 30-29 at the break. Consecutive 3-pointers by Aaron Cosby and Kyle Smyth gave Seton Hall a 65-48 lead with 8:38 left.
“We wanted to start inside because once (Teague) gets going inside, everything opens up outside for us,” said Crosby, the guard who had 13 points for the Pirates.
Teague made 7 of his 11 shots overall and didn’t mind not receiving as many touches in the second half.
“We were being more patient and looking for good shots,” Teague said.
Seton Hall shot 87.5 percent from the line (14 of 16), led by Teague, who was 6 of 6. Edwin (3 of 3), Cosby (2 of 2) and Smyth (2 of 2) also were perfect from the line for Seton Hall. Saint Peter’s made just 8 of 13 free throws.
“They were just too much to handle in the second half,” Saint Peter’s coach John Dunne said. “Once you let them get out in transition like that … They’re so unselfish, and the way they share the ball and find shooters, that helped them get their rhythm.”
Seton Hall made 68 percent of its shots in the second half (17 of 25) and shot 50.9 percent (27 of 53) for the game.
Saint Peter’s (3-2), which lost its second straight, received 14 points apiece from Darius Conley and Blaise Ffrench. Conley left the game with a left leg injury with 5:16 to play.
Seton Hall was playing its first game without starter Auda Patrick, a 6-9 junior who injured his foot in a victory over Maine on Nov. 21. Auda is likely out for the season. Cosby, who came off the bench to score 19 points against Maine, was the new starter against Saint Peter’s.
“We’ve had to make adjustments because of injuries, and I think we did a good job of that,” Cosby said.