One night after Rhode Island picked apart Seton Hall’s defense for 54 first-half points, the Pirates responded with a stout defensive performance in a 72-59 victory over Vanderbilt in the third-place game of the NIT Tip-Off Friday night.
A heightened defensive intensity on the court was reflected in the statistics, as Seton Hall held the Commodores to 33.9 percent shooting from the field and 20.8 percent from deep while forcing 16 Vanderbilt turnovers, resulting in a lengthy scoring drought that spanned 11 minutes for Vanderbilt.
Playing a big part in Seton Hall’s defensive resurgence was the return of senior forward Ismael Sanogo to the starting lineup in place of Michael Nzei.