Sunday, February 15
Indianapolis, IN
6:00 p.m.
Seton Hall University
18-8,8-7Big East
63
at
56
Butler
13-13,4-11Big East
1
2
F
Seton Hall
23
40
63
Butler
24
32
56
Staton-McCray Powers Pirates' Comeback Over Butler, 63-56
2/15/2026 8:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. — Aided by 15 second-half points from AJ Staton-McCray, the Seton Hall men's basketball team downed the Butler Bulldogs, 63-56, inside Hinkle Fieldhouse on Sunday night.
The Pirates (18-8, 8-7 BE), outscored Butler, 40-32, in the second half and shto 4-for-5 from three-point range after halftime. The Bulldogs (13-13, 4-11 BE), won the rebounding battle, 41-38, but shot 30.2 percent (19-of-63) from the field and 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from three.
How It Happened
Off the opening tip, the two teams battled in an old-school BIG EAST defensive clash. It took over three minutes for the first basket to be scored, but after that, the Pirates built themselves an early lead. Led by four early points from Tajaun Simpkins, The Hall found itself up 6-2 as the clock dipped under the 14:00 mark. However, Butler quickly replied by rattling off a 9-2 run to flip the lead into a three-point deficit, 11-8.
In what would become a growing theme as the game continued, The Hall responded with a run of their own. With Najai Hines entering off the bench, the explosive freshman big man logged four points and two blocks on an 8-0 Seton Hall run that allowed them to retake the lead, 16-11, with eight minutes left on the clock.
Out of the break, Butler pounced on a disjointed offensive stretch by The Hall to expand the deficit to seven, 30-23, in less than two minutes. Yet again, however, the Pirates eventually found their way with another decisive stretch of two-way play. In a run that started with Clark finding his footing on the offensive end and ending with Simpkins rattling off four points, The Hall rattled off a 10-2 run that landed them with their first lead of the half, 33-32, with 14:30 remaining.
From that point on, the advantage continued to swing back and forth into the final minutes. For every Butler basket, Staton-McCray and Williams had a response to keep the Bulldogs at bay. However, with only a one-possession lead, 58-56, with 90 seconds remaining, The Hall needed to find results on both ends of the court to close out this game. After a missed layup on the offensive end, it was Clark who answered the call. The floor general composed the offense before rattling through a pull-up jumper to give The Hall a four-point lead, 60-56, with 1:01 left in the game.
News & Notes
The Pirates return to action on Wednesday, February 18, when they host the DePaul Blue Demons inside the Prudential Center. The game will be broadcast on truTV with opening tip slated for 8 p.m.`
The Pirates (18-8, 8-7 BE), outscored Butler, 40-32, in the second half and shto 4-for-5 from three-point range after halftime. The Bulldogs (13-13, 4-11 BE), won the rebounding battle, 41-38, but shot 30.2 percent (19-of-63) from the field and 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from three.
How It Happened
Off the opening tip, the two teams battled in an old-school BIG EAST defensive clash. It took over three minutes for the first basket to be scored, but after that, the Pirates built themselves an early lead. Led by four early points from Tajaun Simpkins, The Hall found itself up 6-2 as the clock dipped under the 14:00 mark. However, Butler quickly replied by rattling off a 9-2 run to flip the lead into a three-point deficit, 11-8.
In what would become a growing theme as the game continued, The Hall responded with a run of their own. With Najai Hines entering off the bench, the explosive freshman big man logged four points and two blocks on an 8-0 Seton Hall run that allowed them to retake the lead, 16-11, with eight minutes left on the clock.
While the lead bounced back and forth heading into the closing minutes of the half, the Bulldogs built a six-point lead, 24-16, with over two minutes remaining in the opening stanza. However, the Pirates would not head to the break facing a hole that large. Trey Parker, Mike Williams and an unusually quiet Budd Clark went on a 5-0 run to close the half to make it a one-point deficit, 24-23.GET 🆙 JOSH pic.twitter.com/Y0GvzFMYIT
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) February 15, 2026
Out of the break, Butler pounced on a disjointed offensive stretch by The Hall to expand the deficit to seven, 30-23, in less than two minutes. Yet again, however, the Pirates eventually found their way with another decisive stretch of two-way play. In a run that started with Clark finding his footing on the offensive end and ending with Simpkins rattling off four points, The Hall rattled off a 10-2 run that landed them with their first lead of the half, 33-32, with 14:30 remaining.
Yet, as the half ticked past the midpoint point, the Bulldogs found themselves with another lead. Now facing a 47-40 deficit with a key player in foul trouble, someone needed to step up in the remaining minutes to close out this game on the road. It quickly became apparent that the man answering the call was AJ Staton-McCray. The graduate wing set the court alight, rattling off eight of the Pirates' 11 points in less than two minutes to give The Hall the lead once again, 50-49, with just under seven minutes on the clock.Push the basketball. Score the basketball. pic.twitter.com/yGPlzlvhUn
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) February 16, 2026
From that point on, the advantage continued to swing back and forth into the final minutes. For every Butler basket, Staton-McCray and Williams had a response to keep the Bulldogs at bay. However, with only a one-possession lead, 58-56, with 90 seconds remaining, The Hall needed to find results on both ends of the court to close out this game. After a missed layup on the offensive end, it was Clark who answered the call. The floor general composed the offense before rattling through a pull-up jumper to give The Hall a four-point lead, 60-56, with 1:01 left in the game.
With the tension continuing to rise, the Pirates were one defensive stand away from potentially closing out the game. After trying to spin around in the paint, Butler's shot attempt ran into the long arms of Stephon Payne. The senior swatted the ball out of the air, sending the Pirates to the line to end the Bulldogs' hopes. After a pair of free throws from Clark and another strong defensive possession, Seton Hall secured the 63-56 road win over the Butler Bulldogs.HE CANNOT MISS‼️ pic.twitter.com/EKvO312GAj
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) February 16, 2026
News & Notes
- This was the 28th matchup all-time between the two programs.
- With the win, The Hall moves to 15-13 all-time against the Bulldogs.
- In 20 of its 26 games, Seton Hall has held their opponents under 70 points.
- They have also held their opposition to 65 or less in 13 of those games.
- Seton Hall is 7-2 in its last nine games at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
- With 13 steals tonight, the Pirates tied their season-high, single-game mark.
- Staton-McCray recorded both a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds.
- Williams recorded 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting in his first game off the bench.
- Hines recorded his third game with five or more blocks this season.
The Pirates return to action on Wednesday, February 18, when they host the DePaul Blue Demons inside the Prudential Center. The game will be broadcast on truTV with opening tip slated for 8 p.m.`
Team Stats
SHU
Butler
FG%
.490
.302
3FG%
.333
.238
FT%
.455
.650
RB
41
38
TO
14
9
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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