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    • Seton Hall basketball suffers another late-game meltdown against Hofstra
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    Seton Hall basketball suffers another late-game meltdown against Hofstra

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    UNIONDALE – After Seton Hall basketball’s shocking loss to Fordham, head coach Shaheen Holloway said he was curious to see how this group would react.

    The answer came Wednesday and it wasn’t good.

    The Pirates suffered another late-game meltdown in a 49-48 loss to Hofstra in a nearly empty Nassau Coliseum.

    To make matters worse, it was Jaquan Sanders — who transferred from the Hall to Hofstra in the offseason — who buried the dagger 3-pointer when the Pirates inexplicably left him uncovered in transition. The junior guard was named the game’s MVP, finishing with 12 points and four rebounds.

    Seton Hall is now 1-2 starting a regular season for the first time since 1998-99 (they were also 1-2 in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, with losses at Louisville and Rhode Island). It’s mid-November and the Pirates’ resume is already in tatters.

    Hofstra (3-0) was the composed team down the stretch. As Pride coach Speedy Claxton said. “The strongest team won tonight.”

    His team was helped by the Hall’s atrocious shooting – 35 percent from the field and 8 of 17 from the free-throw line. The Pirates’ only reliable shooter, graduate guard Chaunce Jenkins, scored 18 points but was benched for a key portion of the second half when he had a hot hand.

    The final sequence was fitting. When the Pirates trailed by one after a timeout, they finally took a low-percentage fadeaway shot from Isaiah Coleman’s corner that hit the side of the backboard.

    FIVE TAKEAWAYS

    1. Change of setup

    Looking for a spark, Holloway pulled sophomore point guard Garwey Dual from the starting lineup and inserted sophomore winger Isaiah Coleman, who has fully recovered from a muscle strain.

    Dual checked in at the under-16 timeout, but gave up an open 3-pointer right in front of Holloway, who was very disgruntled, and was then beaten on a 50-50 rebound, and went back to the bench.

    In Dual’s place, junior point guard Zion Harmon got his first real run of the young season, but he didn’t make much of an impact. It was ball handling by the committee, with postgraduate Dylan Addae-Wusu taking the lead.

    2. Yacine Toumi’s dirty problem

    The 6-foot-2 post-grad from Evansville is the Pirates’ most skilled big man, but he can’t stay on the field. After fouling out in 18 minutes against Fordham, Toumi picked up two fouls in the five-minute first half against Hofstra. And both were easily avoidable: the first was an over-the-back when he didn’t have a shot on the ball, and the second was a weak challenge when he was already beaten in transition.

    A natural stretch four, Toumi looks uncomfortable defending the post. It’s worth wondering if Holloway should consider playing him with a centre, which hasn’t been the case so far. A candidate comes forward…

    3. Hope central?

    Not much was expected from freshman center Godswill Erheriene over the summer. But the 6-foot-2 Nigerian was thrust into a starting role when Louisville transfer Manny Okorafor — the presumed starter inside — had to take an extended period of time off after a serious dehydration incident. And he responded well.

    After averaging 3.5 points and 2.5 boards over the first two games, Erheriene put up 6 points and 5 boards (3 of which were offensive) against Hofstra. He shot 3-of-4 from the field and blocked at least two shots, though he was credited with just one. He also hit the ground several times for loose balls.

    The raw material seems to be there. The child looks like he belongs.

    4. Jaquan Sanders reunion

    There is a familiar face in Hofstra’s starting lineup: Jaquan Sanders, who played in the Hall the past two seasons. The junior guard and native New Yorker averaged 19.5 points in his first two games with the Pride, making 12 of 24 three-pointers.

    Last season, Sanders averaged 2.7 points as the Pirates’ eighth man, shooting 37 percent from deep. Originally recruited by Kevin Willard, he tried out at Holloway, but defensive struggles limited his role.

    Sanders finished with 12 points.

    5. Dead environment

    The Coliseum, a faded, barely used building reminiscent of the late Meadowlands Arena, was more of a mausoleum this evening. There were perhaps 500 fans in attendance, mostly Hofstra faithful, although the Seton Hall pep band was there – and crammed into a corner of the arena.

    Twice the announced public speech had to admonish the DJ to stop playing music (which was at full volume) while the ball was in play.

    This was Seton Hall’s first meeting with Hofstra since 1970 and the first game at Nassau Coliseum since an ECAC Tournament appearance under Bill Raftery in 1979.

    Holloway is good friends with Hofstra head coach Speedy Claxton, which is a big reason why this was planned. It was part of a doubleheader that saw Louisiana Tech defeat UMass in the early tilt.

    Bottom line: There was more juice at the concession stands.

    Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and college basketball since 2003. Contact him at [email protected].

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