Seton Hall Prep junior Shawn Lyght dribbles around a Morristown Beard player in the sectional first round.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The Seton Hall Prep basketball team is looking forward to the upcoming season. Last season, the team was 23-4, capturing the Super Essex Conference–American Division and Essex County Tournament titles. This season they return hot-shooting 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior Jackson Bleecker, who averaged 13.7 points per game last season; 6-foot-8, 225-pound senior forward Darrius Phillips, who averaged 5.7 points and 7.0 rebounds a game; and multisport 6-foot-3,195-pound senior standout Shawn Lyght, who averaged 7.1 points and 4.1 rebounds. Lyght has committed to University of Notre Dame for lacrosse.
The other returnees include seniors Asad Hall, Cade Duncza, Isaiah Shoyombo, Ethan Maynard, Christian Miletic and Liam Toohey. The newcomers include juniors Gino Romano and Noah Roberts and sophomores Dylan Guzzardo, Cole Jordan, Jayden Harrington and James Dunnemann II.
The Pirates will host Central in the season opener on Thursday, Dec. 15, at 7 p.m.
Their always-tough schedule includes showcase events, such as the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children High School Hoopfest on Saturday, Jan. 7, at Roselle Catholic against Hudson Catholic and the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic at Caldwell University on Saturday, Jan. 14, vs. Rutgers Prep.
Right after Christmas, the team will travel to Matawan High School to participate in the Husky Holiday Classic to defend their title. Their opening-round game will be against Carteret on Tuesday, Dec. 27.
The Super Essex Conference–American Division is loaded again and will provide tough opponents all season long, including Central, East Orange Campus, Arts, West Side, East Side and Immaculate Conception of Montclair. The Pirates’ SEC crossover opponent is an always-tough Caldwell squad. The Pirates have also scheduled independent games against Notre Dame Catholic, of Fairfield, Ct., and St. Joseph’s Metuchen.
Kevin Williams is entering his 12th season as the Pirates’ head coach. His current record is 235-51, for a .822 winning percentage. His assistant coaches include Dennis Quinn, SHP Class of 1994; Greg Walsh, SHP Class of 1999; and Ryan Peterson, SHP Class of 1997.
Here is the SHP season schedule:
- Dec. 15: vs. Central, 7 p.m.
- Dec. 17: at East Orange Campus, 1 p.m.
- Dec. 20: vs. Notre Dame Catholic (Faifield, Conn.), 4 p.m.
- Dec. 22: vs. Arts, 7 p.m.
- Dec. 27: 15th Husky Holiday Classic, at Matawan HS, Aberdeen Twp., vs. Carteret, 11:45 a.m.
- Dec. 28 and 30: 15th Husky Holiday Classic, at Matawan HS, Aberdeen Twp., to be determined
- Jan. 3: at West Side, in Newark, 7 p.m.
- Jan. 7: Scholarship for Inner City Children Hoopfest, at Roselle Catholic, in Roselle, vs. Hudson Catholic, noon.
- Jan. 10: vs. East Side, in Newark, 7 p.m.
- Jan. 12: at Central, in Newark, 7 p.m.
- Jan. 14: Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic/Team Hill Foundation, at Caldwell University, vs. Rutgers Prep, 8 p.m.
- Jan. 17: vs. East Orange Campus, 7 p.m.
- Jan. 21: The Essex Fest, at West Side, vs. Montclair Immaculate Conception, 3 p.m.
- Jan. 24: at Arts, in Newark, 4 p.m.
- Jan. 26: vs. St. Joseph of Metuchen, 7 p.m.
- Jan. 28: 76th Essex County Tournament first round.
- Jan. 31: vs. West Side, 7 p.m.
- Feb. 2: vs. Montclair Immaculate Conception, 7 p.m.
- Feb. 4: ECT quarterfinals.
- Feb. 7: at East Side, 4 p.m.
- Feb. 11: ECT semifinals, at Essex County College, in Newark.
- Feb. 14: at Caldwell, 7 p.m.
- Feb. 18: ECT final, at Essex County College, in Newark, 1 p.m.
Photos Courtesy of Rich Morris/SHP
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