Pirates Grind Out Their 19th Win, Beating Georgetown, 51-47

Saturday, February 21

Newark, N.J.

6:00 p.m.

Seton Hall University

19-9,9-8Big East

Georgetown

13-14,5-11Big East

Georgetown

Seton Hall

Pirates Grind Out Their 19th Win, Beating Georgetown, 51-47

2/21/2026 9:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Tickets for March 6 vs. St. John's

NEWARK, N.J. – Najai Hines posted a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds), and the Seton Hall men's basketball team held Georgetown to 27.3 percent shooting, as the Pirates defeated the Hoyas in an old-school BIG EAST battle Saturday at Prudential Center.

How It Happened
In a game that was light on scoring, it was the Hoyas who got out to an early edge, 6-0, just under four minutes in. The Hall would eventually crack the scoreboard just prior to the first media timeout of the night, as back-to-back layups from Mike Williams and Elijah Fisher got the scoring started for the home side. The Pirates would cap then cap a 7-0 run a few minutes later, as Josh Rivera ran the floor in transition off an emphatic Hines block and slammed home a two-handed dunk off a pass from Tajuan Simpkins.

The Pirate lead would grow to as large as five in the first half, 16-11, thanks to a jumper from AJ Staton-McCray at the 6:49 mark. The Hoyas would respond well, closing the opening stanza on a 16-4 run to take a seven-point advantage into the locker room, 27-20.

In the early stages of the second half, Williams was active in making plays to help the Pirates chip away at the deficit. He got the scoring started with a fast break make at the 18:14 mark to pull The Hall within four, then later stole an inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast for the layup to trim it down to three.

From there, Hines began to take over. After going scoreless in the first half, the Plainfield native scores his first points after backing his man into the cylinder and converting a layup while being fouled. Two minutes later, Hines once again took hard contact and converted a shot at the rim, bringing the 9,055 in attendance to their feet as the ensuing free throw brought the Pirates within a point, 36-35.
Georgetown remained pesky, growing its lead back up to six with under 10 minutes to play, 43-37. Layups from Trey Parker and Rivera, followed by a patented mid-range jumper from Budd Clark, got Seton Hall back within one with 6:33 to play. After a defensive stop, Hines got hacked again and sent to the free throw line. The freshman knocked down both freebies to give Seton Hall its first lead of the second half, 45-44, with 5:57 to play.

Hines would provide one more exclamation point on his night with 4:22 to play. Great passing allowed Parker to operate in space as he drove in from the near corner, forcing the defense to crash down onto him. Hines took the dump off pass from Parker and slammed it home with two hands, giving the Pirates a three-point edge, 49-46. The Pirates would then hold the Hoyas without a field goal for the final four minutes to hang on for their ninth BIG EAST win.

News & Notes

Seton Hall picked up its eighth win of the season when trailing at halftime, the most among major conference teams.
The Pirates failed to make a three-pointer tonight for the first time since Jan. 25, 2009 also against Georgetown.
- Like tonight, Seton Hall also won that game, 65-60.
This was the 124^th matchup all-time between the two programs.
- With the win, The Hall evens the record between the two teams at 62-62.
The 47 points allowed are the fewest Seton Hall has allowed to a BIG EAST team since surrendering a BIG EAST program record 39 points to DePaul on Jan. 30, 2024.
In 22 of its 28 games, Seton Hall has held their opponents under 70 points.
- They have also held their opposition to 65 or less in 14 of those games, going 12-2.
Hines scored 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
The Pirates registered 10 steals tonight, their 13^th game of the season with double digit steals.

Up Next
The Pirates have a week off to prepare for a trip to Storrs, Conn. next Saturday as they face UConn at 12 p.m. on FS1. Their last home game takes place on Friday, March 6 when they battle St. John's on Senior Night at 9 p.m. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.