Cornell’s 21-game home win streak –– the fifth-longest among all Division 1 teams –– came to an abrupt end on Friday night, as the Red dropped a hard-fought contest to Seton Hall, 89-79, in its home opener. The Pirates, who were making their first-ever visit to Newman Arena, improve to 3-0 on the season, while the Red’s non-conference record now stands at 2-1.

Junior guard Jeremy Hazell, who finished second in the Big East and 10th in the nation in scoring with 22.7 points per game in 2008-09, led both teams with 33 points on the night. At the other end, after leading Cornell with 24 points on Wednesday against UMass, senior guard Louis Dale was held to just four points and found himself in foul trouble, only seeing 19 minutes of action.

“When you play a team like Seton Hall –– a Big East team –– you’re not going to get away with one of your better players not playing much, and Lou didn’t play much,” said head coach Steve Donahue. “Obviously, [if] he’s there, he’s playing more minutes, and we have a better shot.”

A block from senior center Jeff Foote set the tone early, as the Red defense held Seton Hall scoreless in the first three and a half minutes of play. Meanwhile, senior captain Alex Tyler drew a foul and converted on both free throw attempts, and back-to-back 3’s from sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski and senior forward Ryan Wittman propelled the Red to a quick 8-0 advantage.Out of reach: Sophomore guard Chris Wroblewski (3) scored 22 points and led the team with five assists against Seton Hall.

However, the Pirates would respond following a timeout, as sophomore forward Herb Pope got his team on the board with a jumper. Some costly Cornell turnovers led to easy baskets for the opposition, who were able to pull even at 8-8 with 14:07 remaining on a layup by sophomore guard Jordan Theodore. Theodore would finish the night with a career-high 20 points off the bench.

The teams exchanged leads back-and-forth until junior forward Robert Mitchell put back an offensive rebound –– one of 19 for the Pirates –– to put Seton Hall ahead for good. Mitchell and Pope both registered double-doubles with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 points, 12 rebounds, respectively.

Although the Pirates’ lead swelled to as much as nine in the first half, a layup by Foote –– who led Cornell with 10 rebounds and three blocks –– followed by a Wroblewski 3-pointer and a jumper by senior forward Mark Coury cut the deficit to two. However, just when it appeared that the Red was going to head into halftime down by only a basket, Pope drained a 3 with seven seconds remaining to send both teams to the locker room with the Pirates in front, 40-35.

“We didn’t play great defense ... we were tentative a little bit there,” Donahue said. “What hurt was ... we allowed so many offensive rebounds in the first half. ... And when we did penetrate, we didn’t challenge shots enough like we did the last couple games, and they made them.”

As the game progressed, the Red found itself unable to contain Hazell, who scored 20 of his 33 points in the second half, and was 5-for-12 from beyond the arc for the contest.

“What Jeremy did out there was remarkable,” said Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez.

“We knew he was a very good scorer,” Donahue added. “He’s a guy who takes a lot of hard shots. ... He’s catch-and-shoot when you don’t expect him.”

In a press conference following the game, Hazell described being in that kind of zone as “like throwing a pebble in the ocean ... every time you touch [the ball], you know it’s going in.”

About six minutes into the second period, senior center John Garcia gave the Pirates their largest lead of the game, 58-40, on an offensive rebound that he converted into a layup.

“I think maybe they got a little comfortable with a 15-16 point lead there a couple times in the second half,” Wittman said. “There were a couple moments ... where, if we can hit a couple shots and we don’t turn the ball over ... we really make it a much tougher game for them –– they’re back on their heels a little more.”

Indeed, back-to-back treys from freshman forward Errick Peck –– making his Newman Arena debut –– and Wittman, along with two good free throw attempts from Wroblewski, brought the Red within seven with 1:18 to play. However, that would be the closest the Red would get, as the Pirates were able to capitalize on key opportunities from the free throw line with time expiring.

Despite the loss, there were some positives to be gleaned from Friday’s contest. After being held to only four points against UMass, Wittman rebounded in a big way, notching a team-leading 24 points and contributing four assists while shooting 6-for-15 from beyond the arc.

Wroblewski also had a breakout performance in the home opener, registering 22 points while adding five assists and five rebounds to top off a 3-for-7 showing from 3-point range. He was also a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line.

According to Donahue, sometimes opposing teams are so focused on Wittman and Dale that they fail to pay attention to Wroblewski, who needs to be ready to take advantage of those opportunities like he did on Friday.

Junior forward Adam Wire provided a spark off the bench for Cornell, securing 11 points and five rebounds to become the third Red player in double-figures.

Both teams were comparable from the floor, with the Pirates shooting 44.6 percent overall –– on par with the Red’s 44.4 percent. However, Seton Hall won the battle from downtown, connecting on 41.2 percent of shots compared to Cornell’s 37.9 percent. The Pirates also out-rebounded the Red, 43-36, and forced 13 Cornell turnovers with seven steals, compared to eight and three, respectively.

“We lost tonight because we didn’t play well. They played well, they played better than us,” Donahue said. “I’m disappointed we lost, but in reality, I think in two months we’re going to look back at this game and say, ‘A Big East team came in here, and they were excited that they beat us, and we learned from it, and we became a better basketball team because of it.’”