Keller leads Seton Hall Prep to win over St. James in opener
Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) senior Zach Keller is committed to play quarterback at Princeton.
But first, he wants to help his school’s basketball team to a Beach Ball Classic title.
Keller stepped up for the Pirates in the first round Saturday, scoring a career-high 22 points to lead Seton Hall Prep to a 78-41 win over St. James to advance to the quarterfinals.
“It’s great. With the kids that we have around me, it’s pretty easy for me [to score],” Keller said. “We’re just extremely happy to be in this situation and we can’t wait for tomorrow’s game, whoever we play.”
The Pirates had a tough time leading up to Saturday as they faced some difficulties on their 600-plus mile trip from New Jersey to Myrtle Beach.
But that didn’t stop Seton Hall Prep from coming out with a dominant performance as it led by as much as 40 and didn’t give St. James an advantage for the entire game.
“We got in here late last night. We had to stay at another hotel, drive an hour and do a bunch of things, then we finally made it here,” Keller said. “So we knew it was going to be a tough, tough game. I know [St. James] is a tough team around here and we knew we couldn’t take them for granted.
“We knew we weren’t going to shoot the ball well, we knew our legs weren’t going to be there but we just tried to lock in on defense, which led to some easy buckets in transition.”
Stephen Ferraro also had a big game for the Pirates (4-0), contributing 16 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists. Ferraro was happy with his performance but is concentrating on Sunday’s quarterfinal match as Seton Hall Prep meets the Moeller (Ohio)-Mullins winner at 5:15 p.m.
“It was a nice win but we just need to focus on the next game; we don’t even know who we’re playing,” Ferraro said. “We didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, we just came in fired up and ready to play. Now we have to focus on tomorrow and see who we’re playing.”
St. James senior Jackson Hurston had 11 points but also a game-high five turnovers, and Jordan Fields added nine points for the Sharks (4-5). St. James will play the Moeller-Mullins loser Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
“I thought they were good,” Ferraro said of the Sharks. “We just played really well, pressured the ball and didn’t give them many opportunities. Tomorrow’s team will be a lot better and we’ll need to bring intensity.”
Meanwhile, Keller is eager to see what else his team can do in the prestigious tournament.
“We’re hungry and we’re ready for anything,” Keller said. “We can’t wait to finish out what we started today.”
▪ SETON HALL (78): TJ Gibbs 5, Zach Keller 22, Stephen Ferraro 16, JJ Jenkins 4, Treyvon Bennett 7, Ryan Toohers 3, Michael Mughetto 8, Will Yarborough 1, Austin Williams 8, John Helsel 2, Ashton Miller 2.
▪ ST. JAMES (41): Zach Werba 3, Jackson Hurston 11, Jordan Fields 9, Sullivan Young 4, Jordan Furlough 2, Alex Holmes 2, William Young 3, Andrew McCann 5, Cole Gallagher 2.
▪ Halftime: Seton Hall 37-15. 3-point goals: Seton Hall 6 (Keller 2, Ferraro 3, Toohers 1), St. James 9 (Werba 1, Hurston 3, Fields 3, Young 1, McCann 1). Team fouls: Seton Hall 7, St. James 15. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
▪ Records: Seton Hall 4-0, St. James 4-5.
Max McKinnon: 843-626-0302, @mmckinnonTSN
This story was originally published December 26, 2015 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Keller leads Seton Hall Prep to win over St. James in opener."