Pirates Face Creighton on Senior Night

Published: Tuesday, March 4, 2025

by Bobby Steiner

The Seton Hall men's basketball team (7-22, 2-16) will look to end its four-game losing streak against Creighton (20-9, 13-5) at the Prudential Center on Tuesday night.

This matchup will also be Senior Night, with the team celebrating Dylan Addae-Wusu, Chaunce Jenkins and Yacine Toumi.

The Pirates’ last game was a hard-fought 71-61 loss to the St. John’s Red Storm at Madison Square Garden. Seton Hall stayed competitive throughout against the No. 7 team in the nation.

Addae-Wusu put on a show against his former school at the Garden, racking up 18 points on 50% shooting. His seven assists and four steals were also team highs.

Right behind him was star sophomore Isaiah Coleman, who led the team with six rebounds in addition to his 15 points. He leads in both points and rebounds per game, averaging 15.4 and 5.4, respectively.

On Creighton's side, their last game was a lopsided 83-61 road upset against Xavier.

Ryan Kalkbrenner recorded a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while no other Bluejay scored in double figures.

Their Achilles' heel was a red-hot Xavier offense that shot 55% from the field and a stunning 52.4% from beyond the arc. Two Musketeers, Zach Freemantle and Ryan Conwell, scored 20 or more points, combining to shoot 68% from the field.

Dante Maddox Jr. had a strong showing off the bench for Xavier, finishing with 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including three 3-pointers.

The Hall’s last game against Creighton was a 79-54 loss in late January. Much like their last game against the Johnnies, the Pirates trailed by just four at halftime.

In the second half, Creighton made more than half of its 3-point attempts, highlighted by Steven Ashworth’s five makes. He finished with 17 points.

However, he was only second in scoring. Kalkbrenner led in points, rebounds, steals and blocks, finishing with 23, nine, two and three, respectively.

Notably, Coleman didn’t play in that game. While Prince Aligbe had 12 points and Garway Dual added 10 points with five assists, Coleman’s presence on defense is a different challenge.

Additionally, in the latter stages of Big East play, freshman big man Godswill Erheriene has emerged as a key defensive player. Despite the loss at Georgetown, he shut down one of the nation’s top freshmen, Thomas Sorber, and maintained that energy throughout February.

For the Pirates, free throws are crucial, as the team shot just 42.9% from the line last game. If they can convert at the stripe and tighten up defensively, they have a chance to avenge last season’s triple-overtime loss at The Rock.

Michael Federico and Spencer Gonzales will be on the call live from Newark, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m., hosted by Brian Henderson and Michael Bellifemini on 89.5 FM WSOU.

Bobby Steiner is the Programming Director at WSOU 89.5 FM and can be reached at robert.steiner@student.shu.edu. 

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