Gibbs and Whitehead lead the Hall past Xavier 90-82

Whitehead finds Gibbs after incredible play

NEWARK, N.J. – Seton Hall junior Sterling Gibbs scored a game-high 22 points, 16 in the second half, and served out eight assists to lead the Pirates to a vital 90-82 victory over the Xavier Musketeers at the Prudential Center on Saturday. The Hall now improves to 15-6 and 5-4 in the BIG EAST.

The Pirates’ offense was clicking on all cylinders as they scored a season-high 90 points in the contest. This performance follows the Hall’s 80-70 victory at Marquette and the young squad now sit at fifth in the conference standings.

Making his first appearance since December 21 at Georgia, freshman Isaiah Whitehead returned seamlessly in the lineup, contributing 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals in 23 minutes off the bench. The Pirates improve to now 10-2 when the Brooklyn native is in the lineup.

Gibbs and Whitehead were a combined 16-18 from the charity stripe on Saturday afternoon and the Pirates as whole performed well at the line as the team went 25-35. The Pirates hit 19 of those free throws in the second half as the game winded down and became more physical.

Freshman Desi Rodriguez helped fight through that physical play as he recorded five of the team’s 14 second half field goals, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor on his way to a career-high 16 points while also grabbing six rebounds. Senior Brandon Mobley and fellow freshman Angel Delgado tied for the team-lead with seven rebounds apiece; chipping in 13 and 10 points respectively.

With the game tied at 75 with 4:12 remaining, the Hall held Xavier to 4-of-13 from the field and 0-of-6 from downtown in the final five minutes to help pull away. Seton Hall scored 15 of its final 19 points at the line as Gibbs and Whitehead combined to shoot an impressive 13-of-14 from the stripe down the stretch and help the Pirates win their second game in a row,

The Pirates look to build on the momentum as they head to Chicago for a battle with DePaul on Tuesday at 9 p.m.