Seton Corridor and Southern California picked up important outcomes to start the Maui Invitational.
Constructing on these successes might be paramount when the Pirates and Trojans meet in Tuesday’s semifinals of the event at Lahaina, Hawaii.
Seton Corridor (6-0) recorded an 85-74 victory over No. 23 North Carolina State on Monday, handing the Wolfpack their first loss.
“A very good win for us, a superb win for our progress,” Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway mentioned. “However you may’t get glad.”
Southern California (5-0) received its second shut sport in a row, edging Boise State 70-67 within the first spherical behind Rodney Rice’s 27 factors. The Trojans loved a 33-15 edge in 3-point scoring, with Rice connecting 4 occasions from past the arc.
Coach Eric Musselman mentioned the Trojans anticipate a bodily grueling matchup with Seton Corridor.
“We have to defensive rebound, for positive,” Musselman mentioned, “particularly with Seton Corridor. They tackle the persona of the top coach. They’re tough-minded.”
The Pirates can hit the boards. They’ve had 4 completely different gamers as their prime rebounder to this point. Najai Hines, who’s Seton Corridor’s seventh-leading scorer, leads the group in rebounds at a median of 6.3 per sport.
Holloway mentioned there have been many good indicators for the Pirates to embrace from their first-round victory, notably how they started the second half.
“We simply bought to play our basketball,” he mentioned. “We begin taking part in the best way I believe we will play, I believe we bought an opportunity.”
It wasn’t simply the offense, however what Seton Corridor’s protection did to North Carolina State to assist ignite the offense.
“We bought some stops,” Holloway mentioned. “We bought some run-outs.”
Holloway mentioned he is aware of that success may be fleeting, however defeating the Wolfpack ought to assist the Pirates consider in themselves.
“I name this the marathon,” Holloway mentioned. “That is a part of the marathon for us.”
By defeating Boise State, Southern California improved to 3-4 all-time in video games within the Maui Invitational. The Trojans have by no means received the event.
Southern Cal survived a three-overtime sport in opposition to Troy earlier than heading to Hawaii. Regardless of the nip-and-tuck nature of November video games, there’s tons for Musselman to study his group.
“I am nonetheless undecided what our go-to performs are,” he mentioned.
–Subject Degree Media
