Seton Hall extends early-season dominance in win over Wagner

Kadary Richmond posted a double-double and scored eight points during a decisive run to end the first half Saturday afternoon as host Seton Hall defeated Wagner 72-51 at Newark, N.J.

Richmond finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds while adding a team-high five assists for Seton Hall (4-0), whose average margin of victory during a season-opening homestand was 21.8 points.

Dre Davis scored a game-high 17 points and hit the layup that put Seton Hall ahead for good shortly beyond the midway point of the first half. Jaden Bediako added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Pirates.

Tyje Kelton led Wagner (1-3) with nine points and six rebounds. Julian Brown, Melvin Council Jr. and Rob Taylor II all had eight points apiece for the Seahawks, a member of the Northeast Conference.

Wagner took its lone leads by scoring seven straight points to go ahead 12-8 on Zaire Williams' layup with 13:11 left in the first half. Seton Hall answered with a 9-0 run in which Davis scored six points, including the layup that gave the Pirates a 13-12 lead with 9:43 remaining in the half.

Wagner got as close as 21-20 when Council Jr. sank two free throws with 4:49 left. The Pirates responded with another 9-0 run in which Richmond scored six points. After Council ended the surge, Richmond hit a layup to put the hosts ahead 32-22 at the half.

Javier Ezquerra opened the second half with a 3-pointer for Wagner before Seton Hall scored the next five points. The Seahawks got within nine points twice more before the Pirates put the game away by going on a 9-0 run that spanned just three possessions and 1:52.

Wagner got no closer than 16 and Seton Hall led by as many as 26 down the stretch.

The Pirates improved to 29-6 against Wagner with their 14th straight win in the series dating back to the Seahawks' 95-90 double overtime win on Jan. 31, 1979.