Seton Hall basketball can't hold lead in slugfest at St. John's

NEW YORK – Elijah Fisher and Zuby Ejiofor got tied up for a loose ball. The whistle blew. They each kept tugging. It blew again. No matter. They had to be separated by the officials, and even then, they gave each other an earful as double technicals were assessed.

It was one part college basketball game, one part wrestling match when Seton Hall visited St. John’s for a Big East showdown Tuesday.

The only thing missing was a steel chair.

In one of the most physical contests in the recent history of this rivalry, St. John’s beat back the Hall 65-60 before a highly animated Madison Square Garden crowd of about 12,000.

The Hall (14-5 overall, 4-4 Big East) built a 15-point second-half lead but couldn’t sustain it thanks to missed free throws, missed layups and the Johnnies’ second-half dominance on the glass.

The surging Red Storm (14-5, 7-1) have won five in a row and have taken four straight from the Pirates in the series.

St. John’s (13-5, 6-1) came in on a four-game winning streak and having taken three straight in the series with the Pirates.

The Pirates now face the first urgent game of the season Saturday with a trip to much-improved DePaul (11-7, 3-4), which was trailing Butler by double figures late Tuesday.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Free throws a killer – again

The Pirates shot just 11-for-20 (55 percent) from the free-throw line, continuing a recent trend that included 15-of-25 in the loss to UConn and 17-of-25 in the loss to Butler.

St. John’s, meanwhile, shot 19-for-28 from the stripe (68 percent).

2. Need more from Budd Clark

The junior point guard clearly was bothered by St. John's length, shooting 0-for-7 from the field with just two assists. With the Pirates trailing by three and just over a minute left, he uncharacteristically had his pocket at midcourt by St. John's Dylan Darling, who took it the other way for a bucket. He did avoid fouling out after two straight disqualifications, but it's become clear that as Clark goes, so go the Pirates.

3. Stephon Payne bounced back

After a couple of subpar performances, the senior center drew a tough assignment in St. John’s star Zuby Ejiofor and handled it well.

Payne played elbows out, pedal down – exactly what the Pirates need from him. At one point, he nearly knocked a bunch of (very expensive) beers from the hands of courtside fans diving for a loose ball.  He finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds while Ejiofor had just nine points and four boards.

4. No lineup changes

For the 19^th straight game Holloway rolled out the same starting lineup. His starters opened a 9-8 lead before junior guard Mike Williams subbed out with two fouls. In came junior guard Taquan Simpkins, who played the rest of the half and scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. The play of Simpkins and fellow sub Trey Parker kept the Pirates from lapsing into the mid-first half funk that’s plagued them in nearly every Big East game.

As Holloway made crystal clear after the Butler loss, he prefers consistency in his rotation and trusts his players to figure things out.

5. Hall fans were heard  

It wasn’t exactly a blue invasion, but the few hundred Hall fans who showed up made themselves heard early and often. A concentration of them behind the Pirates’ bench had a “Let’s go Pirates” chant going on multiple occasions.

Along with the fan showings in Hawaii and at Georgetown, this was the latest reminder that, as much as student turnout has been an issue at home, the Pirates’ hardcore supporters travel well.  

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball can't hold lead in slugfest at St. John's