NEWARK, N.J. – The Saint Peter's men's basketball team (0-1) dropped its season opener to Seton Hall (1-0) on Monday night at the Prudential Center by a final score of 50-77. The Peacocks played 12 total players over the course of the game, as a lot of new faces saw the floor.
With the 2025-26 season beginning, the Peacocks traveled to the Prudential Center to take on Seton Hall in the season opener for the third straight year. The Peacocks showed some fight to open the game, but as the game progressed, Saint Peter's fell behind due to Seton Hall's pressing defense.
A big difference maker in the game tonight was the number of points the Pirates scored off turnovers. Seton Hall's defense created turnovers, which led to fastbreak opportunities, which then led to points. Seton Hall finished with 23 points off of 15 Saint Peter's turnovers.
The Peacocks had a hard time producing much on offense, finishing 14-for-51 from the field and 6-for-23 from 3-point range. On the bright side, true freshman point guard
TJ Robinson led the team in points with 11 off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF: The Peacocks faced a 5-11 deficit at the first media timeout, seeing a floater from
Lucas Scroggins and a 3-pointer from
Shaedon Simpson go in offensively. The Pirates went 3-for-7 from the field and 1-for-1 from 3-point range after the first four-and-a-half minutes. Out of the media timeout, Saint Peter's knocked down another triple to make it 8-11. Seton Hall knocked down a free throw to go up 16-11, but a 3-pointer by
Adetokunbo Bakare kept the Peacocks within two, 14-16. SPU was held scoreless for over two minutes until Robinson made an acrobatic layup to end the drought, making it 16-20.
With just under nine minutes to go, Robinson hit a crazy stepback where he made his defender fall before hitting a 3-pointer. Seton Hall began to pull away with free throws, leading 34-24 with 3:32 remaining in the half. At the media break, the Pirates had shot 19 free throws compared to Saint Peter's six. Seton Hall continued to extend its lead in the final minutes leading up to halftime, taking a 41-28 advantage over the Peacocks.
SECOND HALF: Saint Peter's offense struggled out of the gates, scoring just three points through the first four minutes of the half. The defense also had some trouble as the Pirates scored six points in the paint along with a pair of free throws. The Peacocks trailed, 31-49, with 15:59 to go in regulation. As the game progressed, Seton Hall continued its momentum with transition buckets. The Pirates went on a 10-0 run to take a commanding, 64-35, lead over SPU. The Pirates held onto their lead to close out the game and win by 27 points.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks' home opener takes place on Saturday, Nov. 8, when they play the FDU Knights at 2 p.m. ET.
NOTES
Saint Peter's moves to 24-68 all-time vs. Seton Hall...the Saint Peter's newcomers combined for 25 points and 19 boards…Robinson scored 11 points in his first collegiate game…the Peacocks finished with 32 bench points.
