Credit: GR Productions
Pirates Remain Undefeated through Five for First Time in 11 Years
Published: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
by Ryder Nuesell
NEWARK, N.J. -- The Seton Hall Pirates (5-0) handled the New Haven Chargers (2-4) on Tuesday night by a final score of 68-45.
The Pirates were in control early, dictating the pace of play from the opening tip.
Mike Williams opened the scoring with a three-pointer, then followed by a layup putting
Seton Hall up 5-0. Stephon Payne and Williams combined for all of the Pirates’ points
up until their 15-6 lead five minutes in.
Throughout the night, it was either layups or the three-ball that had the Pirates
rolling. Seton Hall scored 24 of their points on threes and 32 points in the paint
over the course of the game.
The Pirates landed six of their first eight attempts from behind the arc, three of
which came from the leading scorer of the night, Tajuan Simpkins. The senior guard
entered the game off of the bench once again, but continued to produce like a starter
and played a starting-caliber 28 minutes with 18 points.
Along with Simpkins’ impressive performance, Payne posted his first double-double
as a Pirate with 13 points and 11 rebounds. With freshman forward Najai Hines turning
heads in his first handful of collegiate games and the looming return of Godswill
Erheriene, Payne proved once more tonight why he deserves the starting job.
By the half, Seton Hall comfortably led New Haven 42-28. Coach Holloway later said
that he was pleased with the offensive performance before halftime, but felt that
the team could have been even more of a presence on the defensive end.
In the second half, Seton Hall came back out from the break slowly, taking time to
get back in rhythm. Pirate fans had been loving what they had seen throughout the
first half, however a 6-0 New Haven run across a five minute span early in the second
had The Hall looking uncomfortable on the court.
After going scoreless for those five minutes, including misses on their previous five
field goal attempts and one of their last eight, a pair of Charger turnovers resulted
in Pirate buckets. This seemingly put them back on track, and Seton Hall was able
to close out the game strong from there.
Although New Haven’s Andre Pasha had a strong 15-point performance, the sophomore
forward was the only Charger who was a presence offensively. The anticipated players
to watch prior to the game, Jabri Fitzpatrick and Najimi George, were evidently silenced
by the Pirates.
Fitzpatrick was scoreless until his only basket of the night late in the second half,
whereas George was only able to land one three-pointer midway through the first.
After a strong all-around performance, the 5-0 Pirates will head to Hawaii on Wednesday
in order to have time to settle in before they begin play at the Maui Invitational.
The Hall will play their first game against the NC State Wolfpack on Monday, November
24 at 2:30 P.M. where Ryan Nelke and Nick DiBlasi will have the call on 89.5 WSOU.
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