newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MIKE VORKUNOV

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

PHILADELPHIA — The first time out under coach Kevin Willard was anything but a smooth start. It was more like an awkward first date. Willard still isn't sure of what he has and his team is still getting used to each other as they adapt to their new system.

Against No. 22 Temple, the Pirates showed how unfamiliar they are with themselves as they fell 62-56 at the Liacouras Center. The offense that was the backbone of the team last year sputtered after a quick start. The defense, which was the focus of the preseason, was patchy and an unfinished work. Seton Hall (0-1) reflected that as they looked like a work in progress.

The Pirates went scoreless on 12 straight possessions during the latter part of the first half as the Owls scored 17 unanswered points to grab a stranglehold on the game before halftime. When the firepower came through in the last minutes of the game, it was too little and way too late.

"I'm still trying to get used to these guys a little bit," said Willard about his Seton Hall debut. "Opening up here is probably not where I want to get used to them. I tried to find combinations that would compliment each other. The 17-0 run we got ourselves in trouble with some bad shots and got deflated by that. They did a good job of getting on the break and attacking us. We caused that with bad offense instead of bad defense."

The structure and control that Willard preached was missing on offense. Once the offense went cold at the 8:17 mark of the first half, when the Pirates held a 20-17 lead, the bottom dropped out. The ball movement stagnated and bad shots and bad decisions left the offense looking like it the preseason focus on defense came to the detriment of the offense.

The final numbers weren't pretty as Seton Hall shot just 29.7 percent for the game and 5-of-17 from beyond the three-point line. Jeremy Hazell was the only one in double-figures as he scored 17 points, but he needed 15 shots to do so. Even worse was that Jordan Theodore, Herb Pope and Jeff Robinson shot 8-of-28 between them, accounting for 18 points.

"It's just not everybody being familiar yet with each other's skills and abilities and just not knowing everybody's role right away," said Pope. "First game of the year, gotta work out some kinks."

Pope played for the first time since his collapse in Seton Hall's on-campus gym that almost resulted in his death. He wasn't much of a factor offensively and was visibly not all the way back physically. He still grabbed eight rebounds, but hit only two of his ten shots for five points.

"[I'm] kind of playing a little tentative out there as far as I picked up some ticky-tack fouls," he said. "I'm not in game speed right now. I was about a half step behind."

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So was the team's fluidity. They finally found it with less than three minutes to go in the game. Down 60-44 with 2:35 remaining, Seton Hall went on a 12-0 run, finished off by Robinson's lay-up with 20 seconds left that got them as close as they would come.

After an Owls timeout, Temple (1-0) broke through the Pirate's press and got the ball into the frontcourt before Juan Fernandez was fouled with 1.7 seconds left. He nailed both free throws, two of his 12 points that went along with seven rebounds and five assists. Ramone Moore was the team's leading scorer with 14 points.

Temple's big men dominated the boards, getting the advantage 49-35, and kept Seton Hall from attacking the rim with nine blocked shots that set a tone, early, to stay out of the paint. Lavoy Allen, despite first half foul trouble, grabbed nine rebounds and swatted three shots in addition to scoring nine points. Michael Eric blocked five shots, four in the first half.

Still, Seton Hall put the blame on themselves.

"Once we all start moving the ball a little more, we'll be fine," said Jordan Theodore. "First seven minutes of the game we were fine, we were moving it. I just think that we stopped passing the ball. Guys were, I wouldn't say selfish, but guys wanted to show their talents. We just stopped moving the ball. I think that's what hurt us the most."

They'll have their chance to grow into each other soon enough as they welcome Cornell to the Prudential Center Sunday in their home premiere.

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