Johnnies Thrash Pirates in Richmond's Return

Published: Sunday, January 19, 2025

by Spencer Gonzales

NEWARK, N.J. – The lights of Kadary Richmond’s homecoming on Saturday night proved too bright for the Seton Hall Pirates (6-12, 1-6), who were routed by the visiting St. John’s Red Storm (16-3, 7-1), 79-51. RJ Luis Jr. led all scorers with 24 points, while Richmond added 12 on 5-of-7 shooting.

The night started as expected: a packed house, a rowdy student section, and an excited buzz throughout the Prudential Center. The Hall pulled out all the stops, including the surprise return of the infamous all-black uniforms, last worn during a brutal loss to Rutgers in 2019.

When Richmond’s name was announced during the starting lineups, he was met with a chorus of boos from the entire arena, as students held up snake and dollar sign posters to express their displeasure with his transfer portal decision last spring.

On the opening tipoff, Richmond secured the ball, drawing a chorus of boos from the crowd. The Pirate faithful continued to boo every time he touched the ball during the first 10 minutes of the game.

The jeering would have continued if not for what transpired on the court: an absolute dismantling of the Pirates. The first half was far from what Seton Hall had hoped for, as a crowded paint and pesky perimeter defense from St. John’s resulted in a 13.3% shooting mark from the field.

St. John’s offense did its job in the first 20 minutes, hitting six threes and 43% of its field-goal attempts, but it was the team defense that most impressed coach Rick Pitino.

“That was the best New Year’s Eve gift I could possibly get ... that was a brilliant performance of team defense. We’ve been really, really working on that, and the guys covered each other’s backs,” he said.

The half ended with the Red Storm on top, 39-16, marking the Pirates' worst first half since 2022, when they scored just 18 points against UConn in the BIG EAST Tournament.

The second half showed better fight from Seton Hall, as the Pirates cut the deficit to 16 with 11:12 remaining. Any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed by a 12-5 St. John’s run over the next four minutes, keeping Seton Hall down by more than 20 for good.

The Pirates finished the evening shooting 26.3% from the field, with just four 3-pointers and 12 missed free throws on 29 attempts.

“We got punked. I feel embarrassed. I feel awful for the program,” said a defeated Shaheen Holloway in his postgame press conference.

“I want [the team] to feel this tonight; they’ve got to feel it tomorrow, and they’ve got to feel it Monday… so they don’t have to feel it again. We can’t have another repeat of play like this.”

The Hall will have to bounce back quickly as they host No. 7 Marquette on Tuesday, Jan. 21. WSOU’s coverage of the game will begin at 7:30 p.m. on 89.5 FM. Spencer Gonzales and Brian Henderson will have the call. 

Spencer Gonzales is the Station Manager at WSOU, and can be reached at spencer.gonzales@student.shu.edu. 

Posted in: sports,