Seton Hall drops 2nd straight to mid-major opponent: ‘This is our team. This is not the NBA, there are no trades.’

Shaheen Holloway’s game plan going into Wednesday’s game with Hofstra was to avoid a running game with the high-scoring Pride.

Speedy Claxton’s squad averaged 89.5 points in its first two games, while Seton Hall averaged just 56.5.

The Pirates managed to keep the game at their pace, but once again their offense struggled mightily in a 49-48 loss in the “Icons of the Game” event at Nassau Coliseum. The Pirates (1-2) were coming off a 57-56 loss to Fordham on Saturday afternoon at Walsh Gym. Pride moved to 3-0.

Isaiah Coleman missed a desperate 3-point attempt from the side of the backboard in the final seconds.

“We have to keep fighting, there’s no other way,” Holloway said in his post-game radio interview. “This is our team. This is not the NBA, there are no trades, so we have to keep fighting and scratching and scratching and trying to figure it out.”

Iona transfer Jean Aranguren led Hofstra with 13 points and 6 assists. Former Pirate Jaquan Sanders scored 12 points against his former team, including a big 3-pointer to give the Pride a 49-45 lead with under two minutes left.

“I had a bad shot early in the game and my coaching staff just kept telling me at halftime, ‘We need you to shoot the ball, we need you to shoot the ball,’ so it just paid off big confidence in the second half, just being ready to shoot and help my team win,” Sanders said in a TV interview.

Chaunce Jenkins led The Hall with 18 points, making 4-of-7 from deep, giving him 1,000 points for his career. Dylan Addae-Wusu finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Pirates handed out just nine assists against 14 turnovers and struggled from deep (6-of-29) and from the foul line (8-of-15). They shot 35% from the field.

“As bad as we’re playing, if we just made some crazy free throws, we’d win games,” Holloway said.

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St. Johns transfer Cruz Davis stole the ball and scored on a transition layup to give Hofstra a 40-39 lead with about five minutes left, their first lead since 13-12 in the first half.

Two foul shots from Davis put Hofstra up 44-42.

Jenkins drained a 3-pointer to give The Hall a 45-44 lead, but Sanders drained a 3 to give Hofstra a 49-45 lead.

A three by Addae-Wusu cut it to 49-48.

The Hall took a 24-22 halftime lead while shooting just 29% and shooting 3-of-12 from deep. Holloway lamented in his TV interview at half-time that his team should have been up 8-10 points.

“That’s my guy right there,” Claxton said of Holloway in a television interview. “I wish nothing but the best for my man Sha. I’m just proud of my guys and the effort they put in tonight.”

The Pirates return home to host Wagner on Saturday afternoon. The Seahawks lost to No. 22 St. John’s 66-45 Wednesday at Carnesecca Arena.

“We’ve got to figure it out, and we’ve got to figure it out fast,” Holloway said, “because it’s not going to get any easier.”

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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter covering Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his website at ZAGSBLOG.com.