Isaiah Whitehead erupted for 33 points and five assists Saturday as pulled away from DePaul in the second half for an 80-66 victory at Allstate Arena.
Seton Hall (22-8, 12-6 Big East) led 36-32 at halftime. Then Whitehead scored 25 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the second half, including five 3-pointers.
“Obviously, Whitehead had a phenomenal performance to push the lead up for them,” DePaul coach Dave Leitao said.
While Whitehead was still a focal point of Seton Hall’s offensive attack in the first half, the Pirates had more balanced scoring to start the game with four players scoring at least six points each in the opening period. Sophomore guard Khadeen Carrington finished the game with 17 points while sophomore forward Desi Rodriguez had 11 points.
DePaul (9-21, 3-15) received strong performances from junior guard Billy Garrett Jr. and senior forward Myke Henry. Garrett tallied 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting while Henry recorded 15 points on 10 shots.
Freshman guard Eli Cain had been on a tear the last four weeks, but his hot stretch came to a close with a 1-of-6 shooting performance. Cain managed to stay fairly efficient with 6-of-8 free throw shooting, giving him eight points total for the afternoon.
DePaul has now lost three consecutive games and seven of its last eight outings as it enters the Big East Tournament. The Blue Demons will be the No. 9 seed and face No. 8 seed Georgetown in the first round.
