Seton Hall Suspends Two Players

Monday, January 8th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (AP) â€” Freshman star Eddie Griffin and Kevin Wilkins were suspended by Seton Hall for Monday's game against Notre Dame for violating unspecified team rules.

Coach Tommy Amaker announced the move Sunday, referring to his team's 78-66 loss to No. 19 Georgetown the day before. The coach did not elaborate in his statement.

Following Saturday's game in Washington, Amaker took the unusual step of closing the locker room to the media. At the time, he said he wanted his players to quickly leave the arena. But the team bus was idling outside the MCI Center an hour after the game.

Junior point guard Ty Shine was seen leaving the locker room with a bandage below his right eye, covering an injury he did not have when he left the court following the game.

University officials would not comment on how Shine was injured, or whether it was related to the suspensions of Griffin and Wilkins.

Shine's mother, Barbara, said she was told that Griffin punched her son in the face, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported Monday.

Barbara Shine said Griffin was unhappy when her son failed to get the ball to him in the final minutes. As the team left the court, Barbara Shine said Griffin told her son, ``Wait until we get into the locker room.''

Shine was sitting at his locker and getting dressed when Griffin threw the punch, Barbara Shine said. Another player, Marcus Toney-El, tried to break up the fight, but Wilkins stepped in and pushed Toney-El in the face. Toney-El, a freshman, was not hurt, but Shine had a cut that required three stitches, the newspaper reported.

Griffin has been one of the top players for the No. 11 Pirates. The 6-foot-9 forward has won or shared the Big East Conference's rookie of the week award five times already this season.

In 13 games, he has averaged 19.6 points and is tied him for the team lead. His 13.2 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game are also tops on the team.

Wilkins, a senior, has appeared in eight games this year, averaging just under a point per game. He transferred last year from Tallahassee Community College.