SETON HALL MEN'S BASKETBALL POSTSEASON RUN PRESENTED BY BARNABAS HEALTH - Mar 13, 2016

The Seton Hall Pirates are once again BIG EAST champions after sophomore Isaiah Whitehead (6'4''-G-95) (Brooklyn, N.Y.) turned in a performance for the ages to lead The Hall past top-seeded Villanova, 69-67, in an instant classic BIG EAST Tournament final Saturday at a sold out Madison Square Garden.

Whitehead led all scorers with 26 points, 14 of which came in the second half, and was named the recipient of the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Tournament Most Valuable Player following the victory. Whitehead is the third Pirate ever to earn the honor; joining Oliver Taylor (1991) and Terry Dehere (1993) who captured the honor during Seton Hall's previous two conference tournament title runs.

For The Hall (25-8), sophomores Khadeen Carrington (6'3''-G-95) (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Ismael Sanogo (6'8''-G) (Newark, N.J.) also took home All-Tournament accolades. Carrington averaged 18.3 points and 4.3 rebounds with a pair of 20-point efforts while Sanogo posted 6.3 ppg (70.0 FG%), to go with a team-high 7.7 rpg and played high-level defense throughout the championship run.

The three second-year Pirates join an elite group of nine in program history that earned the honor before them and the three All-Tournament selections match the program record set last time SHU was crowned kings of the BIG EAST as Dehere, Arturas Karnisovas and Jerry Walker were recognized in 1993.

On Saturday against the No. 3 team in the nation, Sanogo filled the box score with eight points, nine rebounds and two steals. Desi Rodriguez (6'6''-F-96) (Bronx, N.Y.) added 12 points and four steals while senior Derrick Gordon (6'3''-G-91) (Plainfield, N.J.) chipped in 10 points (4-of-6 FG) and three boards off the bench.

Villanova (29-5) entered the contest as the regular season champions and defending conference tournament champions with just seven losses in 60 games against BIG EAST competition in the last three years.

Kris Jenkins and Josh Hart led the way with 23 and 17 points respectively and joined the Pirate trio on the All-Tournament squad.

The matchup featured a duel of Co-BIG EAST Coaches of the Year Kevin Willard and Jay Wright (6'1''-G) with Seton Hall's Willard joining SHU Athletics Hall of Famer PJ Carlesimo as the only coaches ever to lead the program to a BIG EAST Tournament title.

Courtesy of Big East

Big East Tournament Final: Seton Hall - Villanova 69-67
Big East Tournament Semifinals:
Villanova - Providence 76-68
Seton Hall - Xavier 87-83