Dar, Clark Star in Tournament Debuts as Pirates Down Creighton, 72-61

Thursday, March 12

New York, N.Y.

2:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

21-11,10-10Big East

Creighton

15-17,9-11Big East

Creighton

Seton Hall

Dar, Clark Star in Tournament Debuts as Pirates Down Creighton, 72-61

3/12/2026 4:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Led by star performances from Budd Clark and Jacob Dar, the No. 4-seeded Seton Hall men's basketball team downed the No. 5-seeded Creighton Bluejays, 72-61, in The Hall's opening game of the BIG EAST Tournament inside Madison Square Garden.

The Pirates (21-11) earned a pair of 16-point performances from Clark and Dar, while four players off the bench had a +/- better than 10. The Bluejays (15-17) were stymied on the offensive end, shooting 33.3 percent (20-of-60) from the field and 23.5 percent (8-of-34) from three.

How It Happened
As the crowd continued to grow inside Madison Square Garden, it would be the Pirates who drew first blood in this BIG EAST Quarterfinal matchup. After muscling his way through the paint, Elijah Fisher laced a layup off the glass and through the net while being fouled. The Senior completed the three-point play, putting the Pirates up 3-0 through 90 seconds of play.

Tough 2⃣'s for E 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/b0tPaSGShY
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) March 12, 2026

While The Hall struggled to find additional points, the Pirates' stingy defense kept Creighton off the board for nearly four minutes. After the Blue Jays broke the scoring seal, the game began to explode offensively. The two teams combined for 14 points over the next two minutes, leaving The Hall down 10-9 as the clock ticked past the 14-minute mark.

That outburst was short-lived, however, as both offenses quickly went cold again. For nearly three minutes, both defenses rattled their opposing offenses. Out of a timeout, the Pirates broke the stalemate in a big way. Tajaun Simpkins and Mike Williams laced back-to-back threes to pull Seton Hall in front by five, 15-10. Once again, however, that lead would not last. The Blue Jays went on an 8-2 run in less than 90 seconds to send The Hall back down one once again, 18-17, with a little under eight minutes left in the half.

Twin from deep 🎯 pic.twitter.com/T6ICLt3OFC
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) March 12, 2026

As the opening half slowly ticked towards its conclusion, Budd Clark began to make a big impression in his first BIG EAST Tournament game. The floor general rattles off eight points, two assists and one rebound in the final eight minutes, while on the defensive end, the Pirates' defense bludgeoned and confused the Blue Jays, allowing The Hall to close the half on a 16-8 run, putting the Pirates up 33-26 after 20 minutes of play.

Out of the break, Creighton came alive as the Pirates' offense struggled for a response of their own. Over the opening five minutes of the second half, Creighton blitzed the Pirates on the fast break, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor on a 14-4 run that sent the Pirates down three, 40-37, as a media timeout rang out.

JACOB'S FEELING IT 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/wiN2ntTced
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) March 12, 2026

Out of the timeout, one man would come off The Hall's bench and turn the entire game on its head. As soon as Jacob Dar entered the game with 14:56 on the clock, the entire tenor and pace changed. He immediately drew a shooting foul, going one for two from the line. With the energy of the roadrunner and grit like sandpaper, Dar rattled Creighton on both ends, collecting 11 points and four rebounds in eight minutes, leading The Hall on a 17-7 run that put Seton Hall up seven, 54-47, with six minutes remaining in this back-and-forth affair.

Jacob Dar cannot be stopped pic.twitter.com/exOL9yvyX2
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) March 12, 2026

While Creighton would cut The Hall's lead to as few as two, 54-52, with two minutes remaining, they would never get closer. The trio of Dar, Trey Parker and AJ Staton-McCray each added four points in the closing minutes, while Clark added three points and two assists to secure a 72-61 win over Creighton and a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals.

News & Notes

This was the 35^th all-time meeting between the two programs.
- With the win, The Hall moves to 18-17 all-time against the Red Storm.
This was the 24^th game this season that Seton Hall has held their opponent under 70 points.
- It was also 15^th time this season they have held an opponent to 65 or less points.
The Pirates outscored the Blue Jays 30-to-22 in the paint.
Dar finished the game with a season-high 16 points, as well as five rebounds in 15 minutes of play
- Dar is the first player in BET history to score at least 15 points in 15 minutes or fewer on six or fewer shot attempts.
- Dar did not leave the court for the final 14:56 of the second half.
Clark recorded 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
- This was Clark's ninth career game with at least 15-5-5.
Parker led the team with a both career-high eight rebounds and a team-high plus-minus of +17 in 17 minutes.

Up Next
The No. 4-seeded Pirates will take on the No. 1overall seeded St. John's Red Storm in the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals tomorrow, Friday, March 13. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Fox.