Rhoden scores 21, No. 21 Seton Hall beats California 62-59

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Jared Rhoden scored 21 points as No. 21 Seton Hall beat California 62-59 in the third-place game at the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

Kadary Richmond had 12 points, while Alexis Yetna and Tyrese Samuel each scored 10 for Seton Hall (4-1).

Seton Hall made its first appearance in the AP Top 25 this week since the end of the 2019-20 season after beating then-No. 4 Michigan 67-65 on Nov. 16. However, the Pirates lost their first game at the Fort Myers event, 79-76 to Ohio State.

Andre Kelly had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Grant Anticevich scored 15 points for California (2-4). Kelly went 7 for 8 from the floor and made all nine three throws.

Yetna hit one of two free throws to put Seton Hall up 60-59 with 1:05 to go.

After Cal’s Jalen Celestine missed a 3, Richmond was called for a charge with 24 seconds left.

Anticevich missed a long-range jumper before Rhoden made it 62-59 on two free throws with 6 seconds left. Seton Hall fouled Joel Brown, who missed both free throws, on the ensuing possession.

In a game that featured runs by both teams, Anticevich had 10 points, including two 3s, and Kelly hit two free throws in a 12-5 surge that gave Cal a 56-51 lead with four minutes remaining.

After Cal put together a 14-2 run midway through the second half, Rhoden connected on a jumper and a layup as Seton Hall scored eight points in a row for a 46-44 advantage.

Cal went up 39-38 with 12:30 remaining when Lars Thiemann blocked a shot and Jordan Shepherd made a layup. Shepherd then hit a jumper to make it 41-38 after another rejection by Thiemann.

Seton Hall led 27-25, going 12 of 15 from the free-throw line in the first 20 minutes. For Cal, Kelly was perfect from the field (6 for 6) and on the line (3 for 3) in his 15-point first half.

FANCY FAST BREAK

Seton Hall went up 21-13 with eight minutes left in the first when Samuel finished off a nifty sequence with a dunk. Richmond made a behind-the-back pass while jumping over the out-of-bounds line to Bryce Aiken, who then set up Samuel’s driving basket.

BACKWARDS BASKET

Rhoden was fouled during a baseline drive on the game's first possession and had his layup from behind the glass go over the top of it into the basket, which didn’t count. He did make both free throws.

UP NEXT

Seton Hall: Hosts Bethune Cookman on Sunday.

California: Returns home for a Sunday night game against Fresno State.

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