All-Around Effort Helps Pirates Surge Past CCSU, 77-61

Wednesday, December 3

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 p.m.

Seton Hall University

8-1,0-0Big East

Central Connecticut State

5-3,0-0NEC

Central Conn. St.

Seton Hall

All-Around Effort Helps Pirates Surge Past CCSU, 77-61

12/3/2025 9:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — With the help of a double-double from Budd Clark and a superb night from behind the arc, the Seton Hall men's basketball team closed out the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils, 77-61, in the final game inside Historic Walsh Gymnasium this season.

The Pirates (8-1) shot a season-high 55 percent from beyond the arc (11-of-20), while Budd Clark logged a 10-point, 12-assist double-double that tied his career high in assists. The Blue Devils (5-3), despite 20 points from David Smith Jr and a double-double from James Jones, committed 15 turnovers that led to 29 Seton Hall points.

How It Happened
In the opening minutes of the Pirates' final game inside Historic Walsh Gymnasium this season, The Hall continued their Maui momentum on both ends of the floor. While holding the Blue Devils to 0-for-4 shooting to open the game, an early four points from Stephon Payne on the other end handed the Pirates a swift 8-0 lead through nearly four minutes of play. Despite that early momentum, CCSU responded swiftly. The visitors rattled off an 11-to-2 run to take the lead, 11-10, as the clock ticked under 13 minutes.

After that troubled early stretch, everything changed when Jacob Dar came off the bench for The Hall. The senior wing opened with a three-pointer on his first touch, before notching another make from distance and a steal as the Pirates in the ensuing minutes. Alongside a pair of layups from Tajuan Simpkins, Seton Hall's lineup combined for their own 13-4 salvo to take a 23-15 lead with only 7:30 remaining in the opening half.

Jacob has the range working early 🎯 pic.twitter.com/R0uGEQeq3N
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 4, 2025

While the Blue Devils would reduce it to as few as four, newly-named BIG EAST Player of the Week AJ Staton-McCray rattled off seven points in the closing minutes of the half to give The Hall a 10-point lead, 37-27, heading into the half.

As the game resumed, floor general Budd Clark gave Central Connecticut headaches with his relentless pressure. Clark generated two points, two assists, and helped force a steal as The Hall expanded its lead to a game-high 16-point lead, 43-27, inside the 18-minute mark.

While the lead would shrink back down to single digits, Mike Williams and Dar conducted their own self-contained offensive runs to stall out Central Connecticut's offensive momentum. Still holding on to a twelve-point lead as the clock approached the ten-minute mark, the Seton Hall backcourt took over the game. In a run bookended by Trey Parker three-pointers, Clark and Simpkins added the main verses to an 11-4 Pirates run that ballooned the lead back to 16, 61-45, right as the under-eight timeout arrived.

That's 17 assists on 22 made shots.

Efficiency 👍 pic.twitter.com/WC9gi3KckC
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 4, 2025

In the immediate aftermath of the timeout, The Hall grew the lead even further to twenty points. However, the Blue Devils slowly chipped away at the Pirates' lead. Just as the clock ticked under the four-minute mark, Central Connecticut shrank the lead all the way down to 11 points. With their lead in minorly jeopardy, the Pirates turned the lights out with a late run from a pair of players who were having quiet nights. Josh Rivera notched his first three-pointer of the season, Najai Hines added five points of his own as Seton Hall cruised to a 77-61 win over Central Connecticut.

News & Notes

With the win, the Pirates are off to a 8-1 start, their best record after nine games since the 2021-22 season.
Tonight was the first time Seton Hall has had five players with multiple 3PM in a game since The Hall's 94-64 win over St John's on Feb. 14, 2012 at the Prudential Center (Aaron Cosby, Fuquan Edwin, Haralds Karlis, Brandon Mobley, Jordan Theodore).
Clark (10 pts & 12 asst) registered the first points/assists double-double by a Pirate since Kadary Richmond against UNLV in the third round during the 2023 NIT on March 27, 2024.
- Clark's 12 assists tied his career high.
With the win, the Pirates move to 6-0 against the Blue Devils.
With 77 points tonight, the Pirates have logged 68 or more points in their first nine games for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
The Hall has recorded a minimum of three double-digit scorers in every game this season.
With 13 steals tonight, the Pirates have recorded nine or more steals in all nine games this season,
- That is tied the second-longest streak in program history (Jan. 7 to Feb. 8, 2012) the longest streak in program history to open a season.
Dar logged a season-high nine points and knocked down his first two 3-pointers of the year.
Williams tallied his fourth-consecutive game with double-digit points and seventh in the last eight games.
Staton-McCray logged his eighth-consecutive game with double-digit points.

Up Next
The Pirates return to action on December 6, when they travel to Manhattan, Kan., to take on the Kansas State Wildcats inside Bramlage Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU with opening tip slated for 4 p.m.