Seton Hall basketball: Prince Aligbe leads win over NJIT

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NEWARK – Since he arrived on campus in June, Prince Aligbe has been a leader off the court for Seton Hall basketball.

On Wednesday, with the young season as a low point, he finally took charge on the court.

The Boston College transfer put together his best game as a Pirate to push the Hall past NJIT 67-56 before a crowd of just 3,000 at the Prudential Center.

The junior forward tallied 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists while shooting 8-of-11 from the field as Seton Hall (5-4) bounced back from Saturday’s historically bad loss to winless Monmouth.

NJIT (1-9) made a game of it for 30 minutes but got little production outside of star guard Tariq Francis (23 points).

Dec 4, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Seton Hall Pirates forward Prince Aligbe (4) looks to pass as NJIT Highlanders forward Levi Lawal (22) defends during the first half at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Grant Billmeier returns

He walked out of the tunnel pregame to cheers.

For Grant Billmeier, this will always be home.

The former Pirate center and assistant, now in his second year at the NJIT’s helm, brought his program to the Rock for the first time and received the warm welcome of a favorite son.

“It’s really not about me,” Billmeier said. “I had an unbelievable 15 years at Seton Hall. I want to focus on them and such a young team and putting them in position to be successful. If I think about anything else, I wouldn’t be doing my job.”

Billmeier is one of five former Pirates who hold head-coaching gigs in Division I. He’ll face another, his old teammate Donald Copeland, when the Highlanders visit Wagner Dec. 14.

Billmeier, Copeland and Holloway all are part of Kevin Willard’s coaching tree. Willard, whose Maryland squad crushed Ohio State in a statement win Tuesday to improve to 8-1, has been a resource for Billmeier when he has questions.

“He was able to come to my George Washington game, and we spent a lot of time talking after, and…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/seton-hall-basketball-prince-aligbe-034111334.html

Author : App.com | Asbury Park Press

Publish date : 2024-12-05 03:41:00

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