Myles Powell leads No. 13 Seton Hall past Florida A&M 87-51

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Myles Powell scored 23 points to lead No. 13 Seton Hall to an 87-51 romp Saturday over winless Florida A&M.

Florida A&M (0-5) would jump out 2-0 on a jumper by D.J. Jones, but that would be the Rattlers’ only lead. Seton Hall (4-1) led by 18 before taking a 36-24 halftime lead.

Rod Melton Jr. led Florida A&M with 12 points while M.J. Randolph had 11 points and nine rebounds. Quincy McKnight had 14 points and five assists for Seton Hall.

Florida A&M pulled within single digits several times in the second half. First, after Randolph’s fastbreak layup off a steal by Melton Jr. to make it 40-31 with 17:27 left. The Rattlers would have another steal a couple of possessions later when Sandro Mamukelashvili turned it over to Melton Jr., whose dunk off a break drew the Rattlers to 43-35.

Powell scored a layup on the ensuing possession before coach Kevin Willard called timeout with his team back up by 10. Melton Jr. hit a free throw to make it 45-36. Nasir Core had a layup after Tyrese Sam blocked Randolph to make it 47-38 with 13:57 to play. Florida A&M came no closer.

BIG PICTURE

Seton Hall: The Pirates continue to look the part of Top 25 team despite their lulls against a lowly opponent. The next stretch will be a good litmus test for March — they head to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis to play No. 4 Oregon and potentially No. 8 Gonzaga. No. 5 UNC, Alabama, Iowa State and Michigan are the other Power Five teams in the event.

Florida A&M: Coming off a 12-19 season with a 9-7 MEAC the Rattlers are still looking for their first win of the season, and things won’t get any easier. The next two games are against Power 5 opponents, with the second against No. 20 Tennessee.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

With this being the only game of the week for Seton Hall, the Pirates should stay about where they are in the Top 25.

UP NEXT

Seton Hall: No. 11 Oregon in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.

Florida A&M: At Kansas State on Dec. 2.