New York, NY — The Seton Hall Pirates earned a 72–61 victory over the Creighton Bluejays on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Adam Clark led the Pirates with 16 points while also contributing seven rebounds and six assists in a well-rounded performance. Teammate Jacob Dar matched Clark with 16 points, providing a major offensive spark during the second half as Seton Hall improved to 21–11 on the season.
The afternoon quarterfinal session drew a capacity crowd of 19,812 fans, extending the tournament’s streak to 21 consecutive sold-out sessions dating back to the 2000 quarterfinals.
For Creighton, Josh Dix paced the offense with 22 points while adding six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Nik Graves chipped in 15 points and five assists, and Austin Swartz finished with 10 points and six boards.
Seton Hall established control midway through the first half with a 10–0 scoring run that turned a close contest into a 27–18 advantage. Clark scored 10 of his points before halftime to help the Pirates carry a 33–26 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, Dar took over offensively, pouring in all 16 of his points after the break. His efficient scoring effort was historic — he became the first player in Big East Tournament history to score at least 15 points in 15 minutes or fewer while attempting six or fewer shots.
The victory improved Seton Hall’s all-time record against Creighton to 18–17. The Pirates have been especially effective offensively this season, posting a 15–1 record when scoring at least 70 points. They have also excelled defensively, going 18–6 when holding opponents under 70.
“I thought we came out. I thought we had good energy, I thought we came out. We did a really good job the first half. In thge first four minutes of the second half, we kind of lost our mind a little bit, and then once we settled down, kind of got back to it.
