HONOLULU (AP) - As good as Angel Delgado was on offense in Seton Hall’s 60-57 win over California Wednesday, he knew the game would be decided on defense.
Delgado recorded his third straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds and Seton Hall did just enough defensively to escape with two wins in as many days at the Pearl Harbor Invitational.
After withstanding California’s 52 percent shooting from the field in the first half, the Pirates (7-2) turned the tables in the second by holding the Bears (7-2) to 35.7 percent.
“I told the guys that we had to get stops. They’re going to score, because they’re a really good team, but we had to get stops because that’s how you win the game,” said Delgado, who pulled down a pivotal defensive rebound in the closing seconds.
Delgado, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound forward, made 6 of 9 shots from the field in a game-high 36 minutes played. It was his fifth double-double of the season and 28th of his career.
“He’s a big, physical player,” California coach Cuonzo Martin said. “He posts up strong, he posts up deep, he knows how to use his body, he knows where he wants to get offensively and I thought he did a great job really establishing himself in the post, getting to the free-throw line, getting offensive rebounds, so overall I thought he played a good game.”
Desi Rodriguez scored 15 points and Khadeen Carrington had 14 points with four assists for the Pirates.
Carrington tied it at 45 with just under 12 minutes to play on a 3-pointer from the right wing, which ignited a 7-0 Seton Hall run. California never regained the lead.
Ivan Rabb’s putback pulled the Golden Bears within 58-57 with 31.1 seconds remaining, but Carrington and Delgado each hit a free throw to extend the Pirates’ lead to 60-57 with 2.7 seconds left.
Jabari Bird had a chance to send it into overtime, but his 3-pointer from about 25 feet as time expired was no good.
Bird came off the bench to lead California with 22 points and nine rebounds.
California closed out the first half with an 11-4 run to turn a four-point deficit into a 34-31 lead.
It was just the second meeting between the teams with California winning 81-76 on Dec. 8, 1973.
BIG PICTURE
California: Rabb, a 6-11 sophomore, struggled for the second consecutive game. He made just 3 of his 8 shots from the field and finished with eight points after being held to a season-low six points against Princeton Tuesday. Rabb, who has been playing with a left wrist injury, entered Wednesday’s game averaging 17.5 points per game.
Seton Hall: The Pirates reeled off their third straight win despite making just 9 of their 20 attempts (45 percent) from the free-throw line. They shot just 46.6 percent (21 of 45) on free throws for the two-day tournament.
HIGHLIGHT REEL
The teams exchanged thunderous dunks within a 10-second span with about four minutes left in the game. Rodriguez threw down a left-handed windmill jam for Seton Hall before Bird outraced the Pirates’ defense for a transition dunk of his own that drew loud cheers from the crowd of about 2,000 spectators that was mostly made up of military service men and women.
HE SAID IT
“I don’t think anything is going to make that plane ride feel any shorter besides Ambien,” Willard said of the nearly 5,000-mile return trip from Honolulu to New Jersey.
DAY OF REMEMBERANCE
Wednesday was the 75th anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, which marked the beginning of World War II. A heavy military presence was on hand for both days of the event, which was held at Bloch Arena on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
“It’s great because being here is a pleasure,” Delgado said. “Not everybody can be here, playing in front of people that will die for you. That’s really something. It’s really special to have this opportunity.”
Peter Dupre, a 97-year old World War II veteran who served a medic treating the wounded at the Battle of the Bulge, performed the national anthem on harmonica .
UP NEXT
California will host UC Davis Saturday, its seventh home game in nine contests this season.
Seton Hall goes to New York City to face No. 19 South Carolina at Madison Square Garden Monday.
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