Seton Hall routs Rutgers to claim Garden State Hardwood Classic win

AJ Staton-McCray scored 18 points, Adam "Budd" Clark tallied 16 points, seven assists and four steals and Seton Hall bullied visiting Rutgers in an 81-59 rivalry win Saturday night in Newark, N.J.

Najai Hines came off the bench to supply 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks and Elijah Fished had 10 points and six boards for Seton Hall (10-1), which won its fourth straight game and ended a two-game losing streak in the Garden State Hardwood Classic series.

It was the largest margin of victory for either side in the annual game since 2015. The Pirates outscored the Scarlet Knights 52-24 in the paint and outshot their rivals a whopping 54.8% to 35.8%.

Harun Zrno led Rutgers (5-6) with 15 points on 4-of-8 3-point shooting. Dylan Grant added 12 points and Lino Mark had 10 as the Scarlet Knights were dealt their sixth loss in seven games.

Rutgers came in averaging 11.5 turnovers per game and had lost 13 by halftime, finishing the game with 18.

Clark and the Pirates wasted no time setting the tone. Clark forced Rutgers point guard Tariq Francis to turn it over on three straight trips up the court, leading to three transition buckets and a Scarlet Knights timeout.

Seton Hall scored the game's first 11 points, but Zrno and backup point guard Lino Mark got going for Rutgers and pulled the visitors within 18-17.

That's when Staton-McCray's 3-pointer and old-fashioned three-point play ignited a 15-0 Pirates run. The big highlight wasn't a basket by Staton-McCray, but his alley-oop pass to a running Trey Parker, who elevated for a one-handed slam.

Rutgers didn't make a field goal in the final 6:54 of the half and trailed 35-21 at intermission.

Seton Hall's offense came out slow in the second half and the Scarlet Knights chipped away at the margin until they trailed by nine. But Tajuan Simpkins raced down the lane for an open, two-handed jam to make it 45-34 Pirates with 13:05 to go.

Francis made a go-ahead 3-pointer that brought the Scarlet Knights within eight, but Clark's triple ignited a 14-5 Pirates outburst that featured three layups from Hines and a full-court fast-break bucket by Staton-McCray.

That grew the lead to 61-44 with 7:34 left, and Rutgers would not get closer than 13 again.

--Field Level Media