Using a 14-2 second half run the Pirates pulled away from the Saint Peter's en root to a 76-61 win. The win over the Peacocks improves the Hall to 5-1 on the season.
Going into halftime trailing 30-29, the Pirates found themselves down 38-35 with 17 minutes left before making the run.
"Especially in the first half, they are not going to be up big on you or you're not going to be up big on them," head coach Kevin Willard said. "They do a great job of defending. They control the tempo really well. It's really that second half if you can separate yourself from them."
That 14-2 run by the Hall helped them gain the 49-40 advantage which was aided by 4-6 shooting and a technical foul from Saint Peter's sophomore Desi Washington, who threw the ball at the ref after the whistle when the Pirates were only up two.
After the run the Hall held a 52-45 lead when another run, this time 16-3, gave the team the lead they needed to put away Saint Peter's.
"We were active on defense," graduate Kyle Smyth said. "We made sure we finished plays. We also got out on the break for some easy baskets. I think that's important because then we don't always have to set up the offense."
The shooting from the Pirates in the second half was a complete 180 from the first. The first half saw the Hall as a team shoot 35.7 percent while the second half saw the team connect on 68 percent of their shots, including 6-10 from beyond the arc.
"We made the extra pass a little more in the second half," Smyth said. "That's why guys were getting open shots, good looks, and they were falling from there."
Junior Fuquan Edwin led the way as he scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half along with junior Eugene Teague collecting his second double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. The 11 rebounds ties a career high for Teague.
"I was just trying to get to the lane and create," junior Fuquan Edwin said. "I felt like I was bigger than the guy that was guarding me and I just wanted to use that to my advantage and go to the hole and be strong and physical."
The Pirates next travel to LSU to play the Tigers on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. apart of the SEC/ Big East Challenge
Stephen Valenti can be reached at Stephen.valenti@student.shu.edu
