Despite holding a 14 point lead at halftime the Pirates fell to the Dayton Flyers 69-65. The loss drops the Hall's record to 6-5 with only one game remaining before Big East play starts.
"It's a very disappointing loss," head coach Kevin Willard said. "
Dayton started the second half on a 22-6 run, capped off by sophomore Josh Benson's two free throws to give the Flyers their first lead since 12:46 in the first half, at 48-46.
"We got up in the first half with good defense," Willard said. "We gave them easy shots in the second half, giving them momentum."
Both teams would trade baskets for the next few point until senior Jeff Robinson made a three point basket with 8:59 in the game, giving the Hall a 55-52 lead, their last of the game. Senior Chris Wright, made a two point jumper to give, Dayton the 56-55 lead, one which they held on to the rest of the game.
"We got too comfortable with our lead," Theodore said. "We talked at halftime about how we needed to put the pressure to them in the first 5 minutes of the second half."
The Pirates struggled offensively in the second half shooting 26 percent from the field while making three of their 11 attempts. The Hall was able to cut the lead down three points under 30 seconds, however Dayton made four of six free throws in the final minute.
Four Pirates' finished the game with double figures in scoring with senior Jeff Robinson leading the team with 15. Senior Herb Pope pulled down 11 rebounds for the Hall who was out rebounded by six, 45-39.
Robinson scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half after sitting all but four minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls. Once Robinson came out of the game the Hall started their run, giving them their half time lead.
Down 14-12 with 14:34 to go before starting a 16-2 run on a three pointer from senior Keon Lawrence.
The run continued until the half finished with the Pirates finishing the half outscoring the Flyers 28-12.
The shooting for the Pirates could not have more different in each half with the team shooting 50 percent in the first half and 26 percent in the second half.
The Pirates play their final non-conference game on Sunday against the Richmond Spiders.
Stephen Valenti can be reached at stephen.valenti@student.shu.edu
