Seton Hall Narrowly Escapes Wagner, Improves to 2-0

Published: Friday, November 7, 2025

by Jake Marcial

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall Pirates (2-0) defeated the Wagner Seahawks (0-2) by a score of 68-61 on Friday night at Walsh Gymnasium, in a game that many may not have expected to be as close as it was.

Both teams put the pressure on early, electing to run a full-court press straight from the tipoff. Wagner had some sloppy play to start, as Seton Hall jumped out to an early 12-3 lead off a couple Tajuan Simpkins three-pointers.

After a hot start by the Pirates, Wagner went on a 15-1 run to take an 18-13 lead with 10 minutes in the first half. With every blow the Pirates dealt, the Seahawks had one of their own, and kept the lead for most of the final ten minutes, taking a 31-30 lead into the locker room.

Trailing by one to start the second half, the Pirates came out of a cannon, taking a 40-34 lead three minutes into the half. Seton Hall’s intensity came to a point when they deflected four Seahawk inbound attempts before the Pirates stole the ball and drew a foul.

It remained a back and forth affair through the first ten minutes of the half, and Seton Hall maintained a 46-44 lead with 10 minutes to play.

The Pirates finally started to pick up the pace on offense late in the second half, opening up a 7-point lead with an acrobatic reverse layup from Tajuan Simpkins at the 7-minute mark. Stephon Payne III also contributed with multiple offensive rebounds and an alley-oop dunk, which fired up the crowd. Just like in the first half, however, they could not completely pull away as Wagner stuck around, keeping the deficit from getting out of hand.

With under five minutes to go, Budd Clark intercepted passes on back-to-back possessions, helping stretch the Pirate lead to nine, and then applying defensive pressure which forced a backcourt violation. Payne converted a putback layup to give the Pirates a 61-52 lead with under four minutes to go, followed up by a free throw from Clark that gave the Pirates their first double-digit lead of the game.

Some sloppy play from the Pirates in the final minutes allowed Wagner to keep it close, but the Pirates stayed strong on defense and ultimately pulled out the win.

Elijah Fisher was the star of the show, dropping 19 points and four rebounds. Payne led the team with nine rebounds, four coming on the offensive end, to go along with 11 points of his own. Simpkins came second on the team with 15 points, with three three-pointers. The team had a strong showing in the paint, with 30 points and 13 offensive rebounds, but they struggled from the free-throw line, shooting 50%.

“Yikes,” was all Coach Shaheen Holloway could muster when he heard about their free-throw woes.

Wagner’s three-point shooting was their strength, shooting 12-23 on the night. John Awoke led the way with 20 points and six threes.

Seton Hall improves to 2-0 for the third time under Shaheen Holloway, and they have a quick turnaround as they are back on Monday against Fairfield at Walsh Gymnasium. Tipoff will be at 7:00 p.m., with Ryan Nelke and AJ Rayer on the call.

Jake Marcial can be reached at jacob.marcial@student.shu.edu.

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