Najai Hines made the game-winning putback in the final second and Seton Hall used a gritty defensive performance to rally from down 16 and stun Creighton 56-54 on Sunday in Newark, N.J.
With 57 seconds left, Creighton successfully challenged a possession call under Seton Hall’s basket and got the ball. Nik Graves was fouled but missed the second of his two foul shots, and Josh Rivera’s dunk cut Creighton’s lead to 54-53 with 22 ticks on the clock.
The Pirates played full-court defense and managed to swing possession their way on back-to-back tie-ups. With 10 seconds to make a play, Budd Clark’s pull-up jumper rattled out but Hines corralled the rebound and was fouled on his layup.
Elijah Fisher led Seton Hall (13-2, 3-1 Big East) with 10 points, Trey Parker scored nine and Hines, a freshman, finished with eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
The Pirates held the Bluejays (9-6, 3-1) to 34.5% overall shooting and 6-of-27 shooting from behind the arc.
Austin Swartz had 16 points and four of Creighton’s six 3-pointers. Jasen Green finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Josh Dix added 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
The Pirates trailed 45-31 when they dialed up the defensive heat. After a pair of Seton Hall baskets, Clark’s steal prompted a fast break resulting in two free throws. Then the Pirates wrestled for Creighton’s inbounds pass, a tie-up went their way and Tajuan Simpkins was fouled trying a three.
Simpkins’ three free throws made it a 10-0 run, and Clark’s full-court layup almost three minutes later cut it to 45-43 with 7:13 to play.
When Green made a layup with 5:57 to go, it ended a Creighton scoring drought lasting 6:12 and a made field goal drought of 9:01. The game was within four points the rest of the way.
The Bluejays shook off a 1-for-11 shooting start and Swartz powered a 10-2 run with eight points, including two 3-pointers.
AJ Staton-McCray’s corner 3-pointer immediately out of the under-four timeout made it a two-point game, but Creighton scored the last seven points of the half, including open triples by Graves and Dix, to set a 27-18 halftime advantage.
Staton-McCray hit another three and Fisher added a layup in the first minute out of halftime to cut it to four, but Creighton’s response was overwhelming. The visitors hit six of their next seven shots, with two more treys by Swartz, to break open a 41-25 lead.
