SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) - Angel Delgado had 18 points and 11 rebounds, his 57th career double-double, leading No. 15 Seton Hall to an 84-61 victory over Saint Peter’s on Tuesday night in a rare game at the Pirates’ old campus location Walsh Gym.
Desi Rodriguez scored 17 points and Khadeen Carrington added 11, as Seton Hall (9-1) raced out to an early lead and never looked back, winning for the 20th time in the last 21 meetings against the Peacocks (4-5).
Davauhnte Turner scored 13 points and Nick Griffin had nine to pace Saint Peter’s.
The Pirates displayed a stifling defense in the early stages of the game to take control, forcing the Peacocks to misfire on 11 of their first 12 field goal attempts.
The Pirates scored the game’s first eight points from four players and cruised from there.
After Elijah Gonzales drained a 3-pointer to pull the Peacocks within 35-23, the Pirates scored the last seven points of the first half, capped by a layup by Delgado with 42 seconds remaining, giving Seton Hall a 42-23 halftime lead. Rodriguez paced the Pirates with 11 first-half points.
Seton Hall scored the first four points after the break to take a 46-23 lead.
Freshman Myles Cale nailed a long 3-pointer, then threw down a monstrous windmill dunk off a steal to push the lead to 61-38, causing Saint Peter’s to call another timeout with 10:29 left.
Seton Hall held a commanding 43-27 advantage on the boards.
OLD-TIME RIVALRY
It was the 88th meeting between the New Jersey rivals, dating to 1931-32. Seton Hall leads the all-time series 64-24 and has won 20 of the last 21 meetings. Saint Peter’s lone win in recent years came in 2013, winning 83-80 in overtime. The programs met every year since the 1949-50 season before taking a one-year hiatus last year.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
The Pirates are the only Division I team to have three players who have scored 1,000 or more points during their career and all three (Rodriguez, Delgado and Carrington) all reached double figures Tuesday night.
FAMILIAR TERRITORY
Saint Peter’s coach John Dunne was an assistant coach at Seton Hall from 2001 through 2006 under then-head coach Louis Orr.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
It was the 57th time in Delgado’s Seton Hall career that he collected double figures in points and rebounds, the top figure in the nation. Delgado led the nation in rebounding last season, grabbing 13.1 per game. Delgado is the only active Division I player with more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
NATIONAL RANKING
The Pirates’ No. 15 ranking in the latest AP Poll is the highest for the program since Jan. 9, 2001.
THE BIG PICTURE
Seton Hall: Tuesday night marked Seton Hall’s 26th consecutive win against non-conference teams at home. The Pirates improved to 422-142 inside Walsh Gym on the Seton Hall campus.
Saint Peter’s : The young Peacocks return only one key player, graduate student Griffin, from the team that won 23 games and captured the CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship last year. Fellow graduate student Nnamdi Enechionya was also a member of that team that tied the school record for wins in a season.
UP NEXT: The Pirates travel down the New Jersey Turnpike to take on state rival Rutgers in Piscataway on Saturday in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.
The Peacocks stay on the road and head to LIU Brooklyn on Sunday at the Barclays Center.
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