Seton Hall Suffers Heartbreaking Loss in Final Seconds at Creighton

Published: Sunday, February 8, 2026

by Thomas Mazurowski

OMAHA, N.E. – The Seton Hall Pirates (16-8, 6-7) fell to the Creighton Bluejays (13-11, 7-6) after surrendering a 10 point lead late in the second half Saturday night.

An 11-1 run in the final two minutes put the Bluejays ahead 69-68 at the buzzer. Fedor Zugic put up pivotal threes to get Creighton within range, while Nik Graves sank the game winner from beyond the arc with three seconds remaining.

Critical mistakes plagued Seton Hall in the closing seconds. AJ Staton-McCray crossed the baseline on an inbound, turning the ball over with 32 seconds left. Later, Trey Parker missed the second shot on a free throw opportunity that would have forced overtime given Graves’ late three.

Both teams came out of the gate swinging. Staton-McCray kicked things off with an explosive layup off the fast break, followed by a three-pointer from Budd Clark. On the other end, Isaac Traudt exploded from range, scoring 15 of the Bluejays first 20 points off of five threes.

Seton Hall kept pace with Creighton off of depth scoring. Seven different Pirates scored by the time the Hall took back the lead, going up 26-25 off a tip-in from Stephon Payne.

The action slowed to a crawl in the final minutes of the first half. Sloppy play meant plenty of missed shots and turnovers on either side. Creighton took advantage of the situation, securing two steals and forcing another four turnovers in the last six minutes. Seton Hall held a narrow 34-32 lead entering halftime.

Traudt opened the second half with yet another three from the corner, putting the Bluejays ahead. The lead swapped hands four times before the Pirates pulled out a 7-point lead, capped off by a midrange jumper from Clark.

Seton Hall broke through the Bluejays’ defense down low and drew fouls to build the cushion. Layups from Najai Hines and Parker, paired with opportunities at the charity stripe, put the Pirates ahead 57-47 with just over eight minutes to go.

Despite a field goal drought lasting over five minutes, Creighton was able to bounce back late. Zugic went on a hot streak to help break through the Pirates’ cushion, knocking down three free-throws and another shot from beyond the arc. Jasen Green put another four points on the board down low.

The Bluejays defense began to shut down Seton Hall’s offensive effort. Creighton forced a critical turnover off of Staton-McCray’s inbound, allowing Zugic to hit a critical three on the next play, narrowing the gap to 67-66.

Parker took to the foul line the next possession, only making one of two shots. Jasen Green snagged the rebound, eventually getting it to Graves for the go-ahead shot. A desperate half-court shot could not save Seton Hall from a 69-68 loss.

Despite improving on their three-point shooting, Seton Hall was unmatched from range. The Pirates shot 5-9 from the arc, a big step up from their recent game at Villanova percentage-wise, it failed to match Creighton’s 13-30 from deep.

The game was dead-even in other areas. Both teams grabbed 30 boards, Creighton gave the ball away 18 times compared to the Pirates’ 14 turnovers, leading to 21 and 23 points off turnovers respectively.

Seton Hall’s tournament hopes may be completely dashed following the loss. The Pirates sit definitively in fifth place in the BIG EAST, with a 6-7 record against conference opponents.

The Hall will look to bounce back against the Providence Friars at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night. AJ Rayer and Ryan Nelke will be on the call from the Prudential Center on 89.5 FM WSOU.

Thomas Mazurowski can be reached at thomas.mazurowski@student.shu.edu.

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