NEWARK – A loose ball hit the floor. Najai Hines, a 6-foot-10, 265-pound freshman out of Plainfield High School, threw his body to the pine for it, beating two opponents to the punch and tapping it out to an open teammate.

That play, perhaps more than any other, symbolized Seton Hall basketball’s 81-59 victory over Rutgers in Saturday’s Garden State Hardwood Classic.

The Pirates (10-1) thrilled a sold-out crowd of 11,100 and a long-awaited huge student section with 40 minutes of high-intensity hoops and Rutgers (5-6) simply could not handle it.

Junior guard Budd Clark (16 points, 7 assists, 4 steals), a maestro on both ends, was named Joe Calebrese MVP.

Seton Hall leads this series 43-33 dating back to 1916. The Pirates are up 8-4 since the series became annual after Rutgers left the B

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