No scenario can be counted out when it comes to Seton Hall men’s basketball or a team coached by Shaheen Holloway—so a “legacy game” from one of The Hall’s bench pieces was always in the cards.
Playing in game two of the BIG EAST Tournament’s four-game quarterfinal slate at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, the fourth-seeded Pirates (21-11, 11-10 BIG EAST) took down the fifth-seeded Creighton Bluejays (15-17, 9-12 BIG EAST), 72-61, behind an all-time performance from senior forward Jacob Dar, who scored a season-high 16 points (5-for-6), all in the second half, in his conference tournament debut.
The first player in tournament history to score at least 15 points on six or fewer shots in 15 minutes of play or less, Dar also grabbed a season-high five rebounds and hit 2-of-3 (66.7%) 3-pointers after shooting just 2-for-15 (13.3%) from that range during the season.
“My coaches trust me, my teammates trust me, so it’s just about going out there, playing hard, and putting in the work,” Dar said postgame. “It’s always going to pay off, so it just felt great seeing that.”
Entering the contest, Dar averaged just 2.4 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per game this season as one of the reserves in the Pirates’ 10, sometimes 11, man rotation.
But numbers mean very little to Holloway, the unanimous BIG EAST Coach of the Year, who recruited Dar from Rice University in the offseason because of his effort, as was on full display on Thursday.
“That’s why he’s here: he’s different than Elijah [Fisher], different than Josh [Rivera], he’s more athletic,” said Holloway, who also earned his first-ever BIG EAST Tournament win on Thursday. “You know, sometimes throughout the season, you kind of go through ups and downs, but to give him credit, he always stayed ready, no matter what.”
“I always told him, ‘Just stay ready,’” Holloway added. “He practiced hard, just like he plays, and that kind of stuff is contagious.”
Dar accounted for 16 of the Pirates’ 30-13 bench-point advantage over the Bluejays, with Holloway praising the rest of the team’s second unit postgame as well.
“Jacob came in and gave us great minutes, and so did Trey Parker, and so did Tajuan Simpkins,” Holloway said. “So we got guys like that, when the starters are really not playing well, you come in with the bench, and we’ve been kind of doing that the whole year. I think that’s been the key to some of our success.”
Both Parker and Simpkins had six points in the game, Parker going a perfect 4-for-4 from the line.
While his teammate made tournament history, All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-Defensive Team junior guard Adam “Budd” Clark joined elite program company.
Also scoring 16 points in his conference tournament debut, Clark became the fourth Pirate to compile a 16-point, 7-rebound and 6-assist statline in the BIG EAST Tournament. He joins the likes of Isaiah Whitehead, Adrian Griffin, and Holloway, who explained what motivated him to recruit Clark to The Hall postgame.
“He played with a chip on his shoulder,” Holloway said about what he noticed about Clark before he became his starting point guard. “He played with the passion, and the heart, and the determination that, you know, I kind of played with.”
It was Clark and Dar who led the charge for SHU in the second half, where things almost went south for The Hall.
After taking a 33-26 lead at the break behind a strong defensive showing, especially on the perimeter, where they held Creighton, the best 3-point shooting team in the conference, to just 28% (5-for-18) from distance, SHU found themselves in a four-point hole early in the second half.
“Creighton's a very, very good team, obviously well-coached, and they want to play in transition, and hit a bunch of 3s and stuff,” Holloway said. “The first four minutes of the second half, we kind of played into that, but once we settled down…”
What ensued once the Pirates “settled down” was a 9-0 run, capped off by a left corner 3-pointer by Dar, that gave SHU a five-point, 49-44, lead, 11:32 left to play.
But the Bluejays refused to go away, as they managed to make it a one-possession game minutes later, SHU still leading 54-52, with just 5:19 remaining.
A 7-0 run over the next two minutes, however, helped the Pirates build their lead back to nine points, Dar hitting his second 3-pointer of the night in the process.
Dar and Clark combined on SHU’s next-time scoring, Clark hitting a free throw for his 16th point of the game, then on the following possession finding Dar, who flew in from the baseline for a lob that gave him his 16th point as well, and put an exclamation point on the Pirates eventual 72-61 win, SHU icing the game from the line to close things out.
As crucial as Dar and Clark were, more crucial was the Pirates collectively containing Creighton from the field and, more importantly, from 3-point range, the Bluejays shooting just 33.3% (20-for-60) and 23.5% (8-for-34), respectively.
SHU, meanwhile, shot 40.7% (24-for-59) and 40% (4-for-10), all while outscoring Creighton 30-22 in the paint and 15-5 on points from turnovers.
With the win, the fourth-seeded Pirates will return to MSG on Friday night, when they face top-seeded St. John’s, who defeated ninth-seeded Providence the game before SHU’s, in the tournament semifinal.
“Today was step one and tomorrow’s step two,” Dar also said postgame. “So we’re just going to lock in, watch film, and just prepare like we always do.”
Although technically not “hosting” SHU, the last time the Pirates faced the Johnnies at MSG on Jan. 20, they led by as much as 15 points—a lead they can hopefully gain again, and keep this time on the biggest stage in basketball.
“I try to explain to these guys about the BIG EAST Tournament and the atmosphere,” Holloway also said postgame. “But, you know, playing tomorrow night, Friday night, in the semifinals against St. John’s in the Garden—I mean, that’s what you play basketball for, right?”
“That’s what we came to the BIG EAST for, that’s what we came to Seton Hall for—to play in the big games, on a big stage like the Garden,” Clark added. "You can't ask for nothing better.”
A win over St. John's on Friday could be the difference between the Pirates playing in the NCAA Tournament or the College Basketball Crown Tournament, a postseason tournament where the top two non-NCAA Tournament teams from the “BIG” conferences are granted automatic bids.
Never one to get ahead of himself, Holloway stressed that him and the Pirates are more concerned about Friday's contest than anything else.
"Winning this game really helps, but all we can be concerned about is playing tomorrow night," Holloway said. "We can't worry about the future right now."
For more on the BIG EAST Tournament, visit The Setonian’s website for coverage of Friday’s game.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
