AJ Staton-McCray powers Seton Hall’s comeback win over Butler
AJ Staton-McCray scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half to rally Seton Hall to a 63-56 Big East win over Butler on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Mike Williams III scored nine of his 10 points in the final 11 minutes for the Pirates (18-8, 8-7 Big East), who came from seven points down in the second half to avenge an 11-point home loss to the Bulldogs last month.
Adam "Budd" Clark added eight points and seven assists. He also helped Seton Hall wrap up the win as he made a driving jumper with 1:01 left and added two free throws with 31 seconds to go to make it 62-56.
The Pirates made 49% of their shots from the field and 5 of 15 (33.3%) from 3-point range.
Big East rebounding leader Michael Ajayi delivered 21 points and 12 boards for injury-riddled Butler (13-13, 4-11), which lost its sixth straight.
The Bulldogs were without the Big East's second-leading scorer, Finley Bizjack, who suffered a wrist injury in an 80-70 loss at home Wednesday to No. 6 UConn.
The loss of Bizjack further depleted the Butler backcourt, which has lost its top two point guards, Jalen Jackson (ankle) and Azavier Robinson (wrist), to season-ending injuries.
In the game's first 12 minutes, the teams traded eight-point runs before Butler went on a 13-2 burst to grab the largest lead of the first half, 24-18.
Ajayi led the spree with nine of the points, including a fast-break three-point play which completed the run with 2:35 left in the period.
Jumpers by Clark and Trey Parker helped the Pirates cut the deficit at the break to 24-23, as the Bulldogs held the lead despite hitting just 28% of its shots from the floor.
Butler matched its biggest lead of the game when Yohan Traore (nine points, seven rebounds) made a two-fisted fastbreak slam with 9:56 left to make it 47-40.
Staton-McCray answered, however, scoring 13 points in a span of less than five minutes to put Seton Hall up for good, 56-53 with 4:27 left.
Tajuan Simpkins added eight points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Pirates.