In their first game of conference play, Seton Hall men’s basketball proved that their 10-1 start to the season was no fluke—and that the Pirates deserve to be nationally ranked.
SHU (11-1, 1-0) defeated the Providence College Friars, 72-67, at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Friday in a contest between the BIG EAST’s best defense and offense, respectively.
The Pirates and Friars entered this game as polar opposites: for SHU, defense has been the key to their success so far this season. Allowing just 61.6 points per game, they boast the sixth-best scoring defense in the nation and the single-best in the BIG EAST. SHU also leads the conference in blocks (6.6) and steals (10.9) per game, both of which rank in the top ten nationally.
The same can be said for the Friars, except for offense. They score an average of 91.7 points per game, which is the best in the BIG EAST and the 13th-best in the nation. Providence graduate guard Jason Edwards is also the conference’s leading scorer, averaging 19.2 points per game. Last time out, he dropped 32 points in a game in which the Friars scored 110 points (and still lost to the Butler Bulldogs in double overtime).
But Edwards and the Friars’ high-octance offense didn’t intimidate the Pirates, who held Providence to their fewest first-half point total of the season with just 28 points at halftime. They shot just 9-for-28 (32%) from the field and 2-for-12 (17%) from deep. Edwards was also held scoreless at the break, with him shooting 0-for-4 from the field and 0-for-3 from deep in the first half. He finished the game with ten points on just 2-for-8 (25%) shooting.
Providence came alive in the second half, however, going on an early 10-0 run to take a 46-45 lead at the 14:30 mark. The Friars then found themselves in a field goal drought from the 11:09 to 5:29 mark, where the Pirates managed to regain a 61-55 lead. A number of free throws minutes later, though, and the Friars took the lead back, 67-66, with just 1:16 remaining.
But it wasn’t all defense that won the game for SHU—the Pirates also scored when it mattered most. Off a pass from fellow junior guard Adam “Budd” Clark, Tajuan Simpkins hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to put the Pirates up 69-67 with about a minute left. Clark then hit a clutch shot of his own from mid-range, as the Pirates held on to win, 72-67.
Although the game featured 14 lead changes, SHU led for a majority of it. The Pirates shot efficiently from the floor and from beyond the arc (45% and 33%, respectively), but struggled from the free throw-line, going just 17-for-27 (67%). Holding Providence to below those same percentages (apart from free throws), helped SHU win, as the Friars shot 19-for-48 (40%) from the field and just 5-for-23 (22%) from deep in the contest. With 12 steals, the Pirates also extended their program-record streak of games with nine or more steals to 12 straight games.
Much of SHU’s scoring in the contest came from Simpkins as well as senior forward Stephon Payne, who each set season-highs.
When his number was called off the bench, Simpkins stepped up. The junior guard scored 14 of his season- and game-high 22 points in the first half, helping SHU take a seven-point lead at halftime. Simpkins finished the game 6-for-9 (67%) from the field and 2-for-3 (67%) from deep—including his clutch 3-pointer during the 6-0 run that sealed the win for SHU.
“I’m just here to do whatever the coaches need me to do,” Simpkins said after SHU’s game against the University of New Haven earlier this season, the last time he led the team in scoring off the bench. He is the team’s second-leading scorer, with 11.8 points per game.
With Simpkins in mind, head coach Shaheen Holloway said after that same game that he looks at “who finishes the game, not who starts [it].”
Without the support of freshman phenom Najai Hines, who did not travel with the team due to illness, Payne also delivered. Like Simpkins, he scored 14 of his season-high 18 points in the second-half alone, going a perfect 6-for-6 in the period. Payne also grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, recording his second double-double of the season and becoming the first Pirate with at least 15 points and rebounds in a game since Jared Rhoden in 2022.
It was a combination of strong defense and clutch offense that gave SHU their 11th win of the season, which matches their best record after 12 games since the 2011-12 season. They will face who coached the Pirates that very season on Tuesday, when they host Kevin Willard and the Villanova University Wildcats (9-2, 0-0) for their BIG EAST home opener at the Prudential Center.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
