Men's Basketball Falls Short Against Dayton, 69-65

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NEWARK, N.J. - The Seton Hall men's basketball team dropped a 69-65 decision to Dayton on Wednesday night at Prudential Center. The Pirates (6-5) led by 14 at the intermission, but the Flyers (10-3) used a big run in the second half to come up with the win.

Senior Eniel Polynice (Sarasota, Fla.) had his best all-around game in a Seton Hall uniform, scoring 13 points while dishing out five assists with two rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes off the bench. Senior Jeff Robinson (Trenton, N.J.) led the team with 15 points.

The Pirates broke the game open with a 14-2 run to take a 28-16 lead with 7:12 remaining in the first half. From there, Polynice took over, scoring 10 of SHU's last 13 points of the period to extend the advantage, 40-26, heading into the locker room.

After trading hoops for much of the opening minutes of the second stanza, a Robinson slam brought the score to 46-35 at the 16:16 mark before Dayton made its move. The Flyers scored the next 13 points over the next four minutes to take the lead, 48-46, with 13:41 remaining.

A Polynice drive and kick to Robinson on the wing from beyond the arc put the Pirates back on top, 55-52, with 8:59 to go, but the Flyers built up a 66-59 lead by holding Seton Hall to just one field goal over the next 8:24.

Junior Jordan Theodore (Englewood, N.J.) hit a long three-pointer from the left wing with just 23 seconds left, but Dayton hit foul shots down the stretch to hang on for the victory.

Matt Kavanaugh led the Flyers with 15 points of the bench. Chris Johnson had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Dayton out-rebounded the Pirates, 45-39, but scored 20 second-chance points, compared to just seven for the Hall.

The Pirates are back in action on Sunday, December 26, against Richmond. Tip-off is set for noon.