By Colin Rajala
Before Wednesday evening’s match up against Butler in Hinkle Field House, Shaheen Holloway had never lost as a head coach in Indianapolis – going 2-0 with St. Peter’s on their Cinderella run to the 2022 Elite Eight, 2-0 over the course of his first two years at the helm of Seton Hall and 2-0 to win the 2024 NIT Championship.
Holloway was looking to keep that winning streak intacted to lift Seton Hall’s sails as the Pirates entered the game in ninth place in the conference standings with just a 1-4 record. The two winless teams below them in the Big East standings – DePaul, who they beat at home on Jan. 8, and Butler.
Needless to say, Seton Hall and Butler were desperate for a victory to give themselves some breathing room from the basement of the Big East.
Butler (8-10, 1-6) used an impressive second half run from seven-foot-one center Andre Screen to take a double-digit lead over Seton Hall (6-11, 1-5) and held on late to outlast the Pirates 82-77 for their first conference win on the year.
Holding a narrow 52-44 lead six minutes into the second half, Butler’s Screen reeled off 11 straight points capped by thunderous one handed slam off the transition lob from Jahmyl Telfort to ignite the home crowd and give the Bulldogs the 63-50 lead, its largest of the game.
Butler was led by Pierre Brooks II’s 19 point, four rebound, four assist performance, while Screen followed with 16 points, five rebounds and a block. Rounding out the double figure scorers for Butler was Kolby King with 11 points and four rebounds and Telfort with 10 points four rebounds and four assists.
Seton Hall was led by Chaunce Jenkins, who scored 21 points on 3-4 shooting from three to go along with four assists and two rebounds. Pacing Seton Hall was Scottie Middleton with 14 points on 4/4 shooting from distance, Prince Aligbe with 12 points, three rebounds and a block and Isaiah Coleman with 11 points and three steals.
The Pirates worked their way back into the game thanks to a 7-0 run that included threes from Middleton and Jenkins to close the score to a two possession game, 71-66, with just over four minutes remaining.
Seton Hall closed the score further to within two points, 74-72, with just over two minutes remaining as part of a larger 13-3 run that was capped by two freshman – Gus Yalden passed off to Jahseem Felton, who buried a three from the top of the key to prompt a timeout from Butler Head Coach Thad Matta.
The Hall forced Telfort to turn the ball over with 1:28 remaining, giving them the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead, but the Pirates settled and missed a mid range jump shot before Butler’s Patrick McCaffrey hit a runner on the next possession for a four-point advantage that the Hall could not recover from.
Butler assisted on 17 of their 26 field goals, outrebounded Seton Hall 31-24 and edged the Pirates in second chance points 11-4 to earn the win.
Before Wednesday evening’s match up against Butler in Hinkle Field House, Shaheen Holloway had never lost as a head coach in Indianapolis – going 2-0 with St. Peter’s on their Cinderella run to the 2022 Elite Eight, 2-0 over the course of his first two years at the helm of Seton Hall and 2-0 to win the 2024 NIT Championship.
Holloway was looking to keep that winning streak intacted to lift Seton Hall’s sails as the Pirates entered the game in ninth place in the conference standings with just a 1-4 record. The two winless teams below them in the Big East standings – DePaul, who they beat at home on Jan. 8, and Butler.
Needless to say, Seton Hall and Butler were desperate for a victory to give themselves some breathing room from the basement of the Big East.
Butler (8-10, 1-6) used an impressive second half run from seven-foot-one center Andre Screen to take a double-digit lead over Seton Hall (6-11, 1-5) and held on late to outlast the Pirates 82-77 for their first conference win on the year.
Holding a narrow 52-44 lead six minutes into the second half, Butler’s Screen reeled off 11 straight points capped by thunderous one handed slam off the transition lob from Jahmyl Telfort to ignite the home crowd and give the Bulldogs the 63-50 lead, its largest of the game.
Butler was led by Pierre Brooks II’s 19 point, four rebound, four assist performance, while Screen followed with 16 points, five rebounds and a block. Rounding out the double figure scorers for Butler was Kolby King with 11 points and four rebounds and Telfort with 10 points four rebounds and four assists.
Seton Hall was led by Chaunce Jenkins, who scored 21 points on 3-4 shooting from three to go along with four assists and two rebounds. Pacing Seton Hall was Scottie Middleton with 14 points on 4/4 shooting from distance, Prince Aligbe with 12 points, three rebounds and a block and Isaiah Coleman with 11 points and three steals.
The Pirates worked their way back into the game thanks to a 7-0 run that included threes from Middleton and Jenkins to close the score to a two possession game, 71-66, with just over four minutes remaining.
Seton Hall closed the score further to within two points, 74-72, with just over two minutes remaining as part of a larger 13-3 run that was capped by two freshman – Gus Yalden passed off to Jahseem Felton, who buried a three from the top of the key to prompt a timeout from Butler Head Coach Thad Matta.
The Hall forced Telfort to turn the ball over with 1:28 remaining, giving them the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead, but the Pirates settled and missed a mid range jump shot before Butler’s Patrick McCaffrey hit a runner on the next possession for a four-point advantage that the Hall could not recover from.
Butler assisted on 17 of their 26 field goals, outrebounded Seton Hall 31-24 and edged the Pirates in second chance points 11-4 to earn the win.
