As Seton Hall men’s basketball led 52-51 with just over five minutes to go, no one could have predicted the 13-point onslaught from DePaul that shattered the Pirates’ hopes of dancing in the NCAA Tournament.
DePaul’s CJ Gunn fired a three-pointer from the corner, and as the shot passed through the net to put the Blue Demons ahead 64-52, nearly every Pirate fan in the arena hushed in silence.
They all understood that their chances of winning were gone, and with it, likely the Pirates’ March Madness hopes.
The Hall (18-9, 8-8 BIG EAST) began their two-game homestand at the Prudential Center on Feb. 18 with a hard loss to the Blue Demons (14-12, 6-9 BIG EAST). The Pirates’ last meeting with the Blue Demons also ended in sorrow, losing 67-60 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Jan. 24 to a much improved and heavily defensive DePaul team.
At first, the Pirates overwhelmed DePaul with lethal accuracy from beyond the arc, posting a 66.7% accuracy from three-point range in the first half, culminating in a huge three from graduate guard AJ Staton-McCray, igniting fans at the Rock and claiming a 35-33 lead going into halftime.
The momentum would not continue for a team that has been an excellent second-half team all season, however, as the Pirates’ nerves got the best of them.
Staton-McCray spoke about the team’s mind state in the second period after the game.
“Not playing calm down the stretch,” Staton-McCray said about the team’s second half performance. “Just erratic, not playing defense.”
Adam “Budd” Clark was wily on the offensive end, slipping past the DePaul defense to score 11 points in the first half. The Pirate phenom guard demonstrated his close-range expertise, selecting close jump shots and penetrating to the rim for layups.
Despite finishing with 19 points in the night, the guard ultimately left the court dejected.
In the second half, the Pirates’ offense nearly came to a standstill, being outscored 36-22 by the Blue Demons.
“We just looked like we were in quicksand,” said SHU head coach Shaheen Holloway “[DePaul] were just getting their money anytime they wanted.”
“We just didn’t have it,” Holloway continued.
SHU’s overall record drops to 18-9 overall and are currently even at 8-8 in conference play. The Pirates are still ranked fourth in the BIG EAST standings, with a fair margin under the three teams projected by bracket analysts to make March Madness from the conference – namely UConn, St. John’s, and Villanova.
The Hall is slated to host Georgetown (13-13, 5-10 BIG EAST) at Prudential on Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. The Hoyas are coming off a 93-89 loss to Butler and are looking to snap a three-game losing streak spanning back to their home loss to Villanova on Feb. 7.
“You got another team coming here that’s hungry, physical, and big,” said Holloway about the Georgetown matchup on the horizon.
“We gotta get ready,” he added.
Christian Hui is the assistant editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at christian.hui@student.shu.edu.
