The Cornell Men's Basketball team lost to the Seton Hall Pirates Friday, 89-79, ending Cornell 22-game home winning streak.

Cornell jumped out to an 8-0 lead three minute in, but Seton Hall point guard Jordan Theodore led the Pirates on an 8-0 run to tie the game. 6 offensive rebounds by Herb Pope allowed the Pirates to stay in the game despite poor shooting early, and once the Pirates found their stroke, they never looked back.

“We simply lost tonight because we didn't play well,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue noted. Donahue blamed some sloppy play and poor shooting for the loss.

Ryan Wittman led Cornell with 24 points, including 6-15 from behind the arc. Wittman led a late charge by Cornell to cut the Seton Hall lead from 17 to 8 with just over two minutes left.

Jeremy Hazell led Seton Hall with 33 points, including 5-12 from three. He noted that at 6'4", he was able to shoot effectively over the shorter Cornell guards

Cornell shot 44% from the field. Seton Hall had a 43-36 advantage on the boards and shot 39 free throws to Cornell's 13.

“If we could get a score and a stop, we could make it a closer game,” Wittman said, noting that Seton Hall was able to score at crucial moments in the second half.

Cornell shot 38% from 3-point range, not a bad percentage. However, they made several threes in the final five minutes when they were down by double digits. Seton Hall was able to build such lead in part because the Red missed a myriad of open looks throughout the first fifteen minutes of the second half.

Donahue also recognized the importance of point guard Louis Dale missing much of the game due to foul trouble, saying “We need Lou Dale on the court” against a team like Seton Hall.

Donahue noted that Seton Hall, a Big East team, was thrilled to get a win against Cornell, showing that the Pirates recognize the strength of Cornell's program. In fact, Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said after the game that this win should help his team's resume when it comes to choosing the field for the NCAA Tournament in March.

The loss moves Cornell to 2-1. They next play Tuesday at Syracuse. You can hear that game on WVBR 93.5-FM or online at WVBR.com.

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