GAME NOTES: A couple of programs from the Garden State suit up against each other on Sunday, as the Seton Hall Pirates host the Peacocks of Saint Peter's at the Prudential Center.

Since opening the 2014-15 campaign with four straight defeats, the Peacocks have bounced back with four wins in the last six contests. Earlier this week, the team followed up a victory versus Boston University with a 60-46 triumph over Princeton at home.

As for the Pirates, they finally saw their winning streak to begin the season come to an end on Tuesday when they bowed to nationally-ranked Wichita State on the road by a score of 77-68. Prior to that, Seton Hall had won the majority of its seven games by double figures, although some of the competition was rather dubious.

Seton Hall owns a 61-24 advantage in the all-time series, claiming victory in 43 of the 50 games played on its home floor. However the most recent meeting, played one year ago to the day, was won by the Peacocks in an 83-80 overtime decision. The victory for Saint Peter's snapped a 17-game slide in the series.

The Peacocks shot just 40.5 percent from the field against Princeton, but that was while holding the visitors to just 30.8 percent from the floor and outscoring the Tigers by a 19-6 margin at the free-throw line. Scoring a game- high 18 points was Desi Washington, as he converted 6-of-10 from the floor and he pulled down six rebounds to pace Saint Peter's in that department as well. Marvin Dominique and Tyler Gaskins pitched in with 16 and 10 points, respectively.

On a unit that is producing just 59.6 ppg, the Peacocks are getting more than half that number from just two players, Dominique (15.9 ppg) and Washington (14.5 ppg). The former is also responsible for 8.7 rpg and yet he still finds opportunities to let fly with an average of 4.3 3-pointers per contest, converting 41.9 percent of his tries. Defensively, the program is holding opponents to just 57.4 ppg on 39.0 percent shooting from the field and 31.9 percent beyond the arc.

Seton Hall may have scored the first points of the game against the Shockers, but it wasn't long before the hosts took control and moved out to a double- digit lead at the half, en route to the comfortable victory at Koch Arena. Still, the Pirates made it interesting as Isaiah Whitehead scored a game-high 23 points on 4-of-7 shooting beyond the arc. Sterling Gibbs also converted 4- of-7 on the outside as he tallied 19 points for a team that shot only 12-of-21 at the free-throw line and turned the ball over 18 times.

Whitehead, the team's leading scorer in three of the last four outings, is responsible for 13.9 ppg and is also tops on the unit with 28 assists, although his turnover total (27) almost completely nullifies those passing efforts. Gibbs steps up with 17.5 ppg, shooting better behind the 3-point line (.541) than he is the floor (.506). As a team, the Pirates are connecting on 41.1 percent beyond the arc, considerably better than the competition which checks in at 31.1 percent.

The competition will gradually get tougher for the Pirates, which is why they need to take advantage of these situations. Saint Peter's may finally be finding a rhythm, but against Seton Hall it is bound to be unbalanced again.