NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Fuquan Edwin had the hot hand early, scoring 18 of his 22 points in the first half, but it was his big assist in the closing minutes that helped seal Seton Hall's 68-59 victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology on Tuesday night.
Edwin drove to the basket and kicked the ball out to Kyle Smyth, who drained a 3-pointer from the right corner and was fouled. Smyth completed the four-point play with 1:40 left to give Seton Hall (6-2) a 59-51 lead.
Guard Chris Flores led the second-half charge for NJIT (4-4), netting 20 of his 23 points over the final 20 minutes. Flores' 3-pointer with 9:40 left cut the Highlanders' deficit to 44-42.
This is the third Big East opponent NJIT has played this season. The Highlanders dropped a 64-63 decision to Providence in their opener on Nov. 10 and bowed to St. John's, 57-49, on Dec. 1.
Seton Hall pulled away midway through the first half with a 15-2 run, fueled by Edwin, to grab a 23-11 advantage. The 6-foot-6 guard, who led his team with 10 rebounds, highlighted the burst with a baseline drive and followed with the bonus free throw. He also dropped in a pull-up jumper and drained a 3-pointer from the corner in the surge.
In the first half, Edwin shot a sizzling 87.5 percent from the floor (7 for 8), hit all three of his 3-point attempts and pulled down six rebounds in piling up 18 points in 17 minutes of action as Seton Hall took a 31-21 lead into the break.
But with Edwin on the bench with his fourth foul at the 10:33 mark of the second half, NJIT got back in it behind the 3-point shooting of Flores, who sank four of his five 3-pointers after the half.
