NIT Champions Welcomed Home By Loyal Pirates Fans - Seton Hall University Athletics
"Pirate Nation, we made history, all of us, and it's just the beginning."
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - Dre Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored the game-winning layup with 16 seconds remaining as the Seton Hall men's basketball team took home the 2024 NIT championship with a victory over Indiana State, 79-77, this past Thursday night inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. The win gives the Pirates, who ended the game on a 9-0 run over the final 2:38, their second NIT title in program history and first since 1953.
Al-Amir Dawes (Newark, N.J.) capped off his strong tournament with a game-high 24 points, while Kadary Richmond (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Richmond, Dawes and Davis were all named to the NIT All-Tournament Team and Dawes was named the NIT's Most Outstanding Player.
This historic five-game tournament run galvanized Seton Hall fans across the country. First came three sold-out home games inside Walsh Gymnasium, then over 400 Seton Hall fans traveled to Indianapolis for the semifinal win over Georgia and the championship victory over Indiana State, which according to ESPN was the most-watched NIT championship game since 2010 with 1.4 million viewers.
Following Thursday's win, Seton Hall planned a public welcome home celebration for the team in the early afternoon. As the team was headed to the Indianapolis airport Friday morning when an earthquake struck in New Jersey, forcing a ground stop at Newark Airport. Undeterred though, the Pirates made alternate plans and flew into Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., and then bussed back to South Orange, where they were greeted by over 500 Pirates fans who waited patiently for hours in the cold for their championship team to arrive.
When addressing the large crowd of Pirates fans, head men's basketball coach Shaheen Holloway '00 said, "From the bottom of all our hearts...for you guys being out here today...it's been a long journey for us coming back today for you guys being out here in the cold...this is love, this is why I'm here and this is why they [the student-athletes] are here.
"Pirate Nation, we made history, all of us, and it's just the beginning."
