Stephon Payne had 14 points and a career-high 22 rebounds and Seton Hall closed the game on a 13-0 run to down Marquette 79-73 Tuesday night in Milwaukee.
AJ Staton-McCray had 14 points for Seton Hall (12-2, 2-1 Big East), all in the first half. Adam “Budd” Clark tallied 13 points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Seton Hall’s start is their best since the 1992-93 season.
The Pirates held Marquette (5-9, 0-3) without a point over the last 3:24 and trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half before rallying. Seton Hall outrebounded Marquette 51-33.
Ben Gold had a career-high 19 points for the Golden Eagles before fouling out in the last minute. Nigel James Jr. added 16 points and five assists.
Marquette took control of the game with a 16-0 run early in the second half sparked by six points from Chase Ross, who finished with 15, but Marquette couldn’t hold on. After trailing 60-50, Seton Hall went on an 8-0 run to pull within two.
A steal and layup by Tajuan Simpkins (11 points) put the Pirates ahead 74-73 with 1:18 left. Marquette guard Adrien Stevens was called for a travel on the Golden Eagles’ next possession after rising up to shoot a three and then pulling the ball down.
Clark scored on a drive to make it 76-73 Seton Hall with 44 seconds left. Marquette missed two threes on their next possession and Seton Hall made three of four free throws to end it.
Marquette started 0-for-6 from the floor and trailed 7-1 after four minutes. Seton Hall led 12-6 when Staton-McCray appeared to twist his right ankle when making a move after crossing half-court and left the game with 13:51 left in the first half.
The Golden Eagles took advantage, going on a 10-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from Gold to take a 21-18 lead midway through the first half.
Staton-McCray returned after missing almost six minutes of game time and his team down 25-20. He then made three threes in a row to put the Pirates back on top 32-31 with 4:01 left.
The two teams traded the advantage for the rest of the half. Clark scored on a drive for Seton Hall with a minute left, and Staton-McCray hit two free throws with 1.4 seconds after being fouled on a drive to the basket to give Seton Hall a 39-38 lead at the break.
