Pirates Say Aloha to Maui With Win Over Washington State

Wednesday, November 26

Lahaina, Hawai'i

5:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

7-1,0-0Big East

Washington State

3-5,0-0WCC

Seton Hall

Washington St.

Pirates Say Aloha to Maui With Win Over Washington State

11/26/2025 7:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LAHAINA, HAWAII — Off the back of stifling first-half defense and another 20-point game from AJ Staton-McCray, the Seton Hall men's basketball team defeated the Washington State Cougars, 75-61, to claim third place at the 2025 Southwest Maui Invitational inside the Lahaina Civic Center.

The Pirates (7-1) utilized their stifling perimeter defense to force the game into a transition battle, allowing them to amass 50 points in the paint. The Cougars (3-5) were held to a stifling 20.8 percent (5-24) from three and recorded 11 first-half turnovers.

How It Happened
After suffering their first loss of the season yesterday, the Pirates came out possessed on both ends of their final game at the Maui Invitational. After Elijah Fisher collected the opening basket, The Hall's defense shackled Wazzu in the brig and lost at sea. The Cougars struggled to find even a passing lane, turning the ball over five times and getting blocked once as Seton Hall jumped out to a 13-point lead, 15-2, through four minutes of play off the back of a pair of buckets from Mike Williams.

Out of the gates RED HOT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zMdvXpWWZ6
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) November 26, 2025

Eventually, the Cougars responded with a miniature 6-2 run to reduce Seton Hall's lead to nine, 17-8, with 14:12 left on the clock. However, they struggled to find any offensive momentum in the opening ten minutes as the Pirates continued to patch every defensive hole in expedient fashion. Even with an additional 4-0 run by the Cougars, the Pirates still held a strong eight-point lead, 19-11, as the ten-minute mark

Defense ➡️ Offense

The theme of the week. pic.twitter.com/oqtbWDck81
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) November 26, 2025

Once again, when they needed it most, the Pirates' defense turned defense into offense to grow the lead. Almost immediately, six quick points in transition expanded The Hall's lead back to 14, 25-11. On the boards, Stephon Payne continued to prevent additional chances, grabbing five first-half rebounds. Yet again, however, the Cougars would not go away. An eventual 8-3 run by Washington State reduced The Hall's lead back to nine, 28-19, with under five minutes left in the opening frame. In the closing minutes, the two sides traded buckets as neither side maintained a distinct offensive advantage. As the buzzer sounded, the Pirates headed to halftime holding a 37-27 lead.

Out of the break, both offenses continued to get the better of the opposing defenses. Both sides traded buckets back and forth, but AJ Staton-McCray collected nine points to push the Pirates' lead to 13, 52-39, with under 13 minutes remaining in the game. As the half continued to evolve, freshman big man Najai Hines announced his presence in the second half. As the clock approached ten minutes, Hines rallied six points, a block and a rebound within four minutes to expand The Hall's lead back to 17, 58-41.

It's been all AJ's today 🫡 pic.twitter.com/0KM8VQzqLl
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) November 27, 2025

While Tajuan Simpkins and Jacob Dar fought to keep the lead at 17, Wazzu took advantage of a strong string of Seton Hall misses to go on a 7-0 run to reduce The Hall's lead back to 12, 64-52, with 6:30 left in the game. After Budd Clark fouled out with 3:34 remaining, the Pirates needed to find a calming presence without a point guard on the floor. Payne completed a three-point play to push the lead back to 14 and the Pirates never looked back.

News & Notes

News & Notes
With the win, the Pirates are off to a 7-1 start, their best record after seven games since the 2021-22 season.
With 81 points tonight, the Pirates have logged 68 or more points in their first seven games for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Seton Hall claims third-place in the Maui Invitational in its second ever appearance. The Pirates finished in sixth place in their only other trip in 2001.
The Hall has recorded a minimum of three double-digit scorers in every game this season.
The Pirates have recorded nine or more steals in every game this season.
Seton Hall turned 15 Cougar turnovers into 27 Pirate points.
The Hall finished with its fewest three-point attempts (10) of the season.
Williams scored in double figures in all three games in Maui, averaging 13.3 points per contest.
Staton-McCray logged his third-consecutive game with 15+ points and second game of the Maui Invitational with 20+ points.
Payne recorded his third double-digit points game of the season.
This is the second ever matchup between these two programs.
- The only other meeting came on Dec. 29, 1985 when the two programs faced off at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Cougars won that game 74-67.
- With the win, the Pirates move to 1-1 all-time against Washington State.

Up Next
The Pirates are back in action on December 3, when play host to the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils inside Historic Walsh Gymnasium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with opening tip slated for 7 p.m.