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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
NEW YORK (AP) -- Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker has to remind
himself every once in a while that Eddie Griffin, Andre Barrett and
Marcus Toney-El are freshmen.
The three newcomers all came up big Saturday as the
eighth-ranked Pirates beat La Salle 63-54 at Madison Square Garden.
|  | | Seton Hall's Eddie Griffin scored 20 points in another impressive performance against La Salle.
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Griffin keyed both of Seton Hall's big spurts -- one at each end of the court -- and had 20 points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots, the first time he didn't get a double-double in his brief college career.
Barrett had 11 points and nine assists for the Pirates (4-0),
while Toney-El came up with a big defensive effort against Rasual
Butler of La Salle (2-3).
"There are times when I have to take a step back because they
do so many things so well. They play beyond their years," Amaker
said. "When they do make a mistake I have to say 'They are only
18.' I haven't had to do that very often so far."
Griffin, who was coming off a 26-point, 21-rebound, seven-block
effort against St. Peter's, was one of the nation's most highly
recruited players out of Philadelphia and this was his first game
against a school from his hometown.
"I know there were a lot of people in Philadelphia watching
hoping La Salle would win and I would do well," he said.
In the first half, Griffin blocked five shots, all in a span of
1:18, to key a 15-1 run that gave the Pirates a 19-11 lead.
"I like to block shots early and then maybe they'll be a little
skeptical about coming inside later in the game," he said.
Seton Hall took control of the game with an 18-5 spurt that gave
it a 49-32 lead with 13:22 to play, and Griffin had seven points in
the run, including two dunks. Barrett had two 3-pointers and two
assists, both on baskets by Griffin, as the Explorers scored on
only two of their 11 possessions during that run.
"Once we got the stops and pushed the ball they couldn't run
with us," said Barrett, who had 13 assists in his last game.
"With guys worried about their shot being blocked I can put more
pressure on my man and maybe make him give the ball quicker to
somebody who may not have been his first choice."
Seton Hall took its biggest lead at 58-40 with 6:42 left on a
fastbreak jumper by Griffin on an assist by Barrett. The Explorers
then went on an 8-0 run to get within 10 points with 2:50 left, but
Darius Lane, who finished with 13 points, hit a 3-pointer to end
the Pirates' 5-minute scoring drought.
"I wasn't thrilled with our decision-making late," Amaker
said. "Sometimes we forget how we got it going. Again, it's a
young team and it won't always show discipline."
Butler finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds for La Salle, but
was 5-for-29 from the field, including 2-for-12 from 3-point range.
"Marcus did a nice job of just never letting him get going,"
Amaker said.
The Pirates led by only 29-23 at halftime even though La Salle
shot just 24.3 percent (9-for-37) from the field. Seton Hall
blocked 10 shots in the opening 20 minutes.
La Salle finished 22-for-81 from the field (27.2 percent), while
the Pirates were 23-for-52 (44.2 percent).
"The stats told the story," La Salle coach Speedy Morris said.
"Offensively we couldn't get into a rhythm. You can't beat
anybody, let alone a good team, shooting 27 percent. We had some
open shots. We just couldn't run our offense."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
LA Salle Clubhouse
Seton Hall Clubhouse
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