SHU Wraps up Non-Conference Slate with 2 pm Home Tip Against Yale on Tuesday
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Setting the Scene... Sacred Heart looks to end its two game losing streak as it prepares for the Northeast Conference season with one final non-conference game against Yale at 2 pm in the William H. Pitt Center on Tuesday.
Series History... Sacred Heart and Yale have met once every season since 2001-02, with the Bulldogs holding an 8-5 edge in the all-time series. Yale won the first five meetings before the Pioneers finally were victorious in 2006. SHU's best stretch was form 2008-10, when it three straight. The Bulldogs hold a slight 3-2 edge in games held at the William H. Pitt Center, and have only lost once on their home court, going 5-1. SHU has the 2-0 edge in neutral games, both at the Connecticut 6. The two teams have split their past four meetings, with the Bulldogs, 80-65, victors a season ago.
Last Meeting... Evan Kelley (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Sacred Heart men's basketball team with 22 points in an 80-65 loss on November 19 of last year.Kelley was 9-for-13 from the field and added three rebounds. Yale wrapped up the first half on a 19-6 run, outscoring Sacred Heart 15-3 in the final 6:43 of the period to take a 38-25 lead.The Pioneers cut the Yale advantage to six, 59-53, with 7:36 to go on a fast break layup by Kelley. That would be as close as Sacred Heart would get. Yale went on a 14-1 run over the next 4:28 to take a 73-54 lead.Yale shot 48.1% from the field to Sacred Heart's 45.8%. The Bulldogs also made eight threes in the game and outrebounded the Pioneers 40-28. Duren and Victor each had 16 points to lead Yale in scoring.
All-Time vs. Ivy League... SHU has faced five of the eight Ivy League schools and does not have a winning record against any of them. All time, the Pioneers are 15-22 against foes from the Ivy League, including a current four-game losing streak after the loss at Brown on Sunday.
Harvard - 3-5
Brown - 2-4
Columbia - 4-4
Cornell - 1-1
-SHU has not faced Dartmouth, Princeton, or Penn.
Scouting Yale... The Bulldogs are off to a great start in 2014 going 9-4 to begin the season, including a victory over in-state power Connecticut on December 5. After losing in the season-opener in double overtime to Quinnipiac, the Bulldogs rattled off wins in eight of their next nine. Over the past three games, Yale has gone just 1-2, including a, 64-60, loss against Albany its last time out on December 20. They have already faced one Northeast Conference opponent, defeating Bryant, 67-60, on December 3. The success of the Bulldogs can be found in their defense and rebounding, as they hold opponents to just 61.5 points per game and outrebound them by 5.5. On offense, they dish out 14.2 assists per contest and score 66.5 points on 43.5 percent shooting. Junior Justin Sears is the leader, averaging a team-high 13.6 points and 8.2 rebounds, as well as 2.6 blocks. Javier Duran contributes 12.5 points and a team leading 4.2 assists per game. Also in double figures is Jack Montague, who is averaging ten points on 2.5 made three-pointers per game.
Common Opponent... Sacred Heart and Yale have two common opponents on the season, as they have both played Lafayette and Hartford.
SHU Opponent Colgate
W, 71-53 Hartford W, 69-57
L, 82-81 Lafayette W, 82-60
Career Numbers vs. Yale...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Kelley (3-3) 11.3 2.7 1.3 27.7
Phil Gaetano (3-2) 5.3 2.3 4 28
Steve Glowiak (3-0) 2 2 0.3 17
Tevin Falzon (2-0) 7 5.5 0.5 22.5
Cole Walton (1-1) - 2 1 9
Matching Last Year's Win Total... With the win over New Hampshire, Sacred Heart surpassed its win total from the entire 2013-14 season with six, in just the tenth game of the season.
Winning in the Pitt... With four straight wins in the William H. Pitt Center over Campbell, Holy Cross, Mitchell, and New Hampshire, SHU is off to its best start at home since the 2009-10 season, when the Pioneers were victorious in six straight in the venue to start the season. Prior to the win over Campbell, the Pioneers were 1-15 in their previous 16 at the Pitt.
-A five-game home winning streak would be the first for SHU since January 3, 2013 to February 7, 2013.
Success Before the New Year... With a win over Yale, Sacred Heart would win its seventh game of the season. The last time SHU won seven games before the turn of the new year was 2011, when it won seven.
A Winning Month.... A win over Yale would clinch a winning month, which is something Sacred Heart has not had since going 6-3 in January of 2013
Continuing to Lose Close... With the three-point loss to Brown, 15 of the past 19 losses have been by single digits
Weekday Woes... The Pioneers are just 1-4 in games played between Monday and Thursday this season.
Leading at the Half... After the loss at Brown, SHU is 5-0 this season when it takes a lead into the lockeroom, and just 1-5 when it is trailing.
-Sacred Heart has lost 33 of the last 35 times it had trailed at the break.
Outshooting the Opponent... Sacred Heart is 6-1 when it has a higher field goal percentage than the opponent, but just 1-5 in games where its percentage is lower.
Enjoying December... After only averaging 63.2 points on 40.1 percent shooting while going 2-3 in November, Sacred Heart is averaging 77.1 points on 49.0 percent shooting en route to a 4-3 December record.
