Seton Hall Stuns #23 NC State With Statement 85-74 Win

Published: Monday, November 24, 2025

by Jack Pine

LAHAINA, H.I. - The Seton Hall Pirates (6-0) came away with a stunning 85-74 win over the No. 23 NC State Wolfpack (4-1) in the opening round of the Maui Invitational on Monday. In their first matchup since the 2018 NCAA Tournament, The Hall, once again, took the victory.

The first half could not have gotten off to a better start for the Pirates offensively. Mike Williams got rolling right off the bat, knocking down a trio of three-pointers to help Seton Hall to an early 14-6 lead.

The Pirates also played tight defense early on, forcing the Wolfpack to dribble excessively and slow down their offense. NC State tried to force shots from downtown, essentially throwing away possessions as they misfired on their first four three-point attempts.

NC State then began to show why they came into this game nationally ranked, as they forced multiple mistakes by the Pirates, most notably by guard Trey Parker.

A former Wolfpack, Parker made a questionable shot selection in transition, opting for a three-pointer that came up short before turning the ball over on a traveling violation. Later on, Parker committed a foul that led to an and-one for NC State.

The Pirates were able to regain some control quickly, as AJ Staton-McCray drew a huge and-one to calm things down, but Budd Clark would take a seat with less than five minutes left in the first half, after picking up a second foul.

Seton Hall’s early swagger especially faded from behind the line, as the Pirates went 0-for-7 from deep, after hitting four of their first six.

Additionally, fouls and turnovers were a big problem for the Pirates. NC State went into the double bonus before Seton Hall even reached the bonus, and multiple careless turnovers prevented Seton Hall from building on their lead.

Despite their errors, the Pirates were exceptional against Darrion Williams, allowing just two points in the first half to the ACC Preseason Player of the Year.

The offense got into a groove as the half wound down, with Williams and Najai Hines knocking down the team’s last four shots to keep pace with the Wolfpack.

At halftime, Seton Hall maintained a 35-33 lead over NC State. The Pirates took the lead into the locker room, but their control of the game remained in question.

Any doubts were put to rest quickly, as Seton Hall burst out of halftime. First, they got a Staton-McCray three to open the half, followed by an Elijah Fisher and-one in transition. This ignited a quick 14-2 run in the first four minutes.

The Pirates were also able to even out the fouling situation, as they quickly drew five fouls, mostly in transition, to enter an early bonus.

The duo of Staton-McCray and Fisher were unstoppable, combining for 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks in the second half, alone.

The Pirates began to pour it on after this, mostly capitalizing on the Wolfpack’s turnovers. This helped the Pirates to a 16-point lead with less than eight minutes left. Seton Hall finished with 19 points off turnovers in the game.

NC State began to show life after this, going on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to single-digits, but the Pirates quickly rebounded, with Tajuan Simpkins tacking seven points in the next two minutes to keep the lead secure.

The clock eventually would wind down as the Pirates finished off a statement 85-74 victory over the Wolfpack. With the win, the Pirates became the first unranked team to topple a ranked opponent this season, snapping an 0-96 start for unranked teams against the Top 25.

The performance in the second half was a major factor in the win, as six Pirates finished in double-figures and the team scored 50 points in the final 20 minutes.

The Pirates will take on the winner of USC and Boise State on Tuesday evening at 5 p.m., with AJ Rayer and Christian Oliveri on the call.

Jack Pine is an Assistant Sports Director and can be reached at john.pine@student.shu.edu.

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