Seton Hall Escapes Wisconsin With a Comeback Road Victory Against Marquette

Published: Wednesday, December 31, 2025

by Oren Mouton

MILWAUKEE, W.I. - The Seton Hall Pirates (12-2, 2-1) delivered one of their most gritty games of the season on the road, defeating the Marquette Golden Eagles (5-9, 0-3) at the Fiserv Forum, 79-73. Senior Stephon Payne led the Pirates in scoring with 14 points and 22 rebounds. AJ Staton-McCray had 14 points of his own as well. 

The Pirates looked to bounce back tonight after a close loss to Villanova in the game prior, 64-56. Marquette headed into this game on a four-game losing streak, hoping to break that and build some momentum.  

Seton Hall started the game out with a fiery 12-6 run with some tough jumpers and a hard-fought possession with three offensive rebounds for the Pirates to finally get the layup to fall. 

After a lineup change, there was a quick sequence of layups from both teams, but the momentum quickly shifted to Marquette as Royce Parham got it going early with a string of buckets. The turnovers really hurt the Pirates early as they racked up four in the opening four minutes of the game. 

Out of a timeout, Marquette hit a three to cap off a 10-2 run to tie the game. There was a ton of offensive firepower in the first half as the two teams continued to trade buckets. However, in transition, the senior Ben Gold slammed it down to cap off a 19-6 Golden Eagles offensive downpour. 

The Pirates seemed to find their offensive stride, getting back in the game off a trifecta of AJ Staton-McCray threes. Stephon Payne was very involved early, with 10 rebounds and some buckets, which helped spark this run. Seton Hall and Marquette went on a cold streak of fouls and turnovers, and closed the half 39-38, with the Pirates leading. 

Coming out of the half, the Pirates turned it up a notch and strung together contact layups and got to the line early, but Marquette started forcing the turnovers once again. The Golden Eagles continued to create pressure and get to the free-throw line, and that opened up an opportunity for Parham to hit a three off a Pirate's miss to go up by 7.  

Everyone started to get involved as the Pirates cut the lead to only two after a string of missed layups and rebounds. Trey Parker was able to draw the foul and get to the line on a three-pointer. The Pirates were able to answer back by getting to the line and taking the lead 74-73. Out of the timeout, Budd Clark soared for the layup off the Marquette turnover. 

Marquette raced down the floor to try to tie the game, but instead missed two threes. The Pirates secured the rebound, and the Golden Eagles were forced to foul. Off a missed free throw, Marquette attemptted to cut the lead to two, but Chase Ross was unable to hit the layup or the putback. The Golden Eagles were forced to foul, and two free throws capped off an 18-4 run for the Pirates to secure the road win at the Fiserv Forum. 

Following the win, the Pirates will return home and continue BIG EAST play, as they will face the Creighton Blue Jays at the Prudential Center on January 4th at 12 p.m., with Lauren Reese and Caitlin Barrar on the call for 89.5 WSOU. 

Oren Mouton can be reached at oren.mouton@student.shu.edu.

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