NEWARK – The question hung in the air for four long days: Would Shaheen Holloway be able to get Seton Hall basketball off the mat after Saturday’s gut-wrenching last-second loss at Creighton.
The answer: Yes.
The Pirates rallied from a slow start and rode a 31-point, eight-assist, five-steal tour de force by junior point guard Budd Clark to take down Providence 87-80 before a crow of 5,500 at the Prudential Center Wednesday.
Seton Hall (17-8 overall, 7-7 Big East) snapped a two-game skid and remains in the NCAA Tournament hunt.
The Pirates completed a season sweep of Providence (11-14, 4-10), which hit nine first-half 3-pointers but buckled under the Hall’s press in the second stanza.
5 TAKEAWAYS
1-Budd Clark’s bender continues
Over the past five games, the junior point guard has played at an All-Big East level. He dominated Providence, getting to his favorite spots at will, disrupting its ball handlers and feeding the Hall's shooters for open looks.
That’s five straight games of 18-plus points and four-plus assists for Clark.
2. It was Godswill
Third-string center Godswill Erheriene got seven second-half minutes and made the most of them, posting six point sand two rebounds. He even made two free throws – not a strength – but using the glass both times, much to the delight of the crowd. He checked out to a huge ovation.
Notable: After Erheriene grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in, prompting a timeout, the first player off of Seton Hall’s bench to congratulate him was freshman center Najai Hines.
It’s mostly been a lost season for the sophomore, who missed more than a month early on with a foot injury. But he showed flashes as a freshman and Hollowing using him at this stage is a good sign for his future.
3. Quick hook for Mike Williams
The Hall’s starting five remained unchanged for the 25th straight game, but Holloway pulled Mike Williams for Tajuan Simpkins less than three minutes in after the junior guard yielded an open 3-pointers and missed a 3-pointer on the other end.
Simpkins started the second half over Williams, in keeping with a pattern of late.
4. Students stay away
Once again, there were only a couple of rows of students at the game. This time, though, the baseline student section wasn’t totally empty as regular fans filled in some of the cracks. This is something that should continue – if the student don’t want these prime seats, other fans will take them.
That said, the folks who showed up did a good job in the second half as the Pirates made their run, offering multiple standing ovations.
5. Still alive for a Big Dance berth
It’s desperation time, and if you’re going to have a must-win road game, it might as well be at a team that has lost five straight. That would be Butler (13-11, 4-9) on Saturday (6 p.m., Fox Sports 1). The Pirates played their worst game of the season against the Bulldogs Jan. 17, falling 77-66 at home Jan. 17.
Since the start of the 2016-17 season the Pirates are 8-3 at Hinkle Fieldhouse – 6-3 against Butler and 2-0 in the NIT.
After that, the Hall will be solid favorites for a two-game homestand against DePaul and Georgetown. A four-game winning streak would put them in position to get to the magic number of 12 Big East wins that would give them a fair shot at making the Big Dance.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball: Budd Clark leads bounce-back win vs. Providence