SOUTH ORANGE – The Seton Hall Pirates (8-1) advance to their best nine game start since the 2021-2022 season, defeating the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (5-3), 77-61 Wednesday night. The Pirates have now eclipsed their win total from their disappointing 2024-2025 season where they had only seven victories.
Returning from a successful trip at the Maui Invitational, the Pirates were back at it Wednesday, playing in Walsh Gymnasium for the third time this season. But after playing three games in three days and traveling many hours back from Hawaii, there was some concern for head coach Shaheen Holloway’s program.
“It was tough because we had like no life, no legs, no nothing,” Holloway said postgame.
Speaking about the past week of practice, Holloway only had one word to describe it. That word was “awful.”
It was understandable how Coach Holloway felt coming in, especially considering who they were facing. The Blue Devils’ first month of the season has been a strong one, all things considered.
Coming off two straight NEC regular season titles, the Blue Devils had impressed many with two massive wins on the road vs “Power 5” schools. With wins at Boston College and at Rutgers, Central Connecticut State was no laughing matter for Seton Hall. The Pirates understood the assignment well and got the job done.
The story all night for the Pirates was how solid the team looked in multiple facets of the game.
Defensively, the Pirates’ ferocious defense continued to exhaust another opposing squad, constantly reading passes correctly and forcing their opponents into tough decisions. This in turn allowed Seton Hall to force 13 steals and generate 29 points off turnovers.
Shooting wise, the Pirates did not mess around. While the Blue Devils entered the game as one of the top teams in the nation in three point shooting percentage, the Pirates were drilling their outside shots. Shooting a season-high 55 percent from the perimeter, the Pirates’ outside shooting was great.
Individually, it was a night of great performances for many players. Notably, guard Adam “Budd” Clark shined the brightest in front of a packed Walsh Gym. Notching his first double-double as a Pirate with 10 points and 12 assists, it was a performance he has the ability of replicating moving forward.
The reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week guard AJ Staton-McCray continued his great play, racking up 12 points. All 12 of Staton-McCray’s points came in the first half.
Guard Mike Williams also finished the night with 12 points, despite shooting 30 percent from the field. Defensively, Williams made his mark again, notching five rebounds and a season-high four steals.
Guard Tajuan Simpkins provided 10 points off the bench and guard Jacob Dar added nine points to the statsheet.
The ball movement, thanks in large part to Clark, was running smoothly all night. The Pirates concluded Wednesday with a season-high 20 assists, topping their previous season-high of 19 assists last game vs Washington State.
Overall, it was a night fans had to be proud of and given where this team was last season, they have to be relieved. But with two games left in the non-conference play, the Pirates can’t squander their next two opportunities.
Before a meeting against their historic state foes in Rutgers on December 13, Seton Hall will travel to Manhattan, Kansas and face Kansas State on Saturday.
“They [Kansas State] got a big back court, great players, good coach, good environment,” Holloway said. “It’ll be good for us. Good for us to go out there. Wish we had a little bit more time to rest, but it’s what it is.”
Tipoff for Saturday’s contest against the Wildcats is scheduled for 4 p.m. on ESPNU.
