Just two weeks after scoring a season-high 24 points, junior guard Adam “Budd” Clark set a new season-high of 31 points to lead Seton Hall men’s basketball to a 87-80 win over Providence (11-14, 4-10 BIG EAST) at the Prudential Center on Wednesday night. The win moves the Pirates to 17-8 overall and 7-7 in BIG EAST play.
The Friars shot 9-for-17 (53%) from beyond the arc in the first half to build an early lead. Providence guard Jaylin Sellers led with 23 points and five three-pointers on 5-of-8 (63%) shooting, putting Providence up 43-39 at halftime.
Despite Providence's hot start, SHU stayed close thanks to Clark. Head coach Shaheen Holloway said he trusted Clark after his point guard picked up a second personal foul in the first half
“It’s money time right now,” Holloway said. “He has such a rhythm going. So I went with my gut, and it paid off.”
Clark finished with 31 points on 11-of-16 (68.8%) shooting, adding eight assists, and five steals. It was his best performance this season and the first 30-point game by a Pirate since Jared Rhoden in 2022 at Butler.
”He was spectacular,” said Providence head coach Kim English. “He looked like Chris Paul.”
Clark set the tone in the second half as SHU shot 58.6% from the floor over the final 20 minutes of play. The Pirates scored 48 second-half points and flipped a four-point halftime hole into a seven-point win. Another big factor that helped the Pirates earn the win was them scoring off of forced turnovers. They forced 18, and turned them into 17 points at the other end.
Sellers continued to have his way after halftime, but overall Providence cooled off from three. The Friars shot just 29.4% from deep in the second half. English spoke about their shot selection as a difference in the game.
“Didn’t feel like our shot quality was great in the second half,” he said.
Graduate guard AJ Staton-McCray added 18 points for the Pirates, while junior guard Tajuan Simpkins chipped in 13 off the bench. After the game, Clark was asked about how important it was for the team to bounce back tonight after their fourth-quarter collapse at Creighton on Feb. 7.
“Last game was last game,” Clark said. “We try to leave it in the past.”
Holloway acknowledged how the Pirates have once again shown that they can respond after tough losses.
“One thing you know about my team is we’re going to play hard,” Holloway said.
SHU will try to carry this energy into Sunday’s game at Butler (13-12, 4-10 BIG EAST), the Pirates still fighting to keep their March Madness hopes alive with only a handful of games left.
Jaden Highsmith is the assistant editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at jaden.highsmith@student.shu.edu.
