Pioneers Begin Pennsylvania Road Trip with Second Straight Against Saint Francis U
1/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Setting the Scene... The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team begins its Pennsylvania road trip with a 7 pm tip at first place Saint Francis U on Friday night. The Pioneers faced off against the Red Flash just six days ago, with SFU prevailing, 77-68, at the William H. Pitt Center on Saturday afternoon to even the all-time series at 12-12.
2014-15 Preseason NEC Poll... Sacred Heart was selected to finish tenth in the Preseason NEC Coaches poll, while Saint Francs U was chosen fourth, receiving one first place vote.
1. St. Francis Brooklyn (6) 6. Bryant
2. CCSU (3) 7. Wagner
3 Robert Morris 8. LIU Brooklyn
4. Saint Francis U (1) 9. Fairleigh Dickinson
5. Mount St. Mary's 10. Sacred Heart
Series History... The series between Sacred Heart and Saint Francis U began in 2000 in the first season SHU became a member of the Northeast Conference. With the win on Saturday, the Red Flash have tied their longest winning streak in the series, winning three straight to even the all-time series at 12-12. The visiting team holds the edge at both venues. In Loretto, Sacred Heart holds a slight, 7-6, advantage all-time, including winning six of the past eight. SFU now holds the edge in the Pitt, 6-5, winning three of the past four. The longest winning streak in the series is by SHU, who won seven straight from 2006-09. The Red Flash's best stretch came in the beginning of the series, when they won five of the first six meetings and seven of the first nine. That included winning three straight from 2002-03.
Last Meeting...The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team fell to Saint Francis U, 77-68, in Northeast Conference last Saturday at the William H. Pitt Center. The Red Flash used 15-16 shooting from the free throw line in the final 4:42 to clinch the victory after SHU had cut the lead to three. Earl Brown led the way with a 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Mailik Harmon recorded game-highs in both points and assists, with 25 and five, as SFU improves to 9-6 and 3-1 in the NEC. Evan Kelley led the Pioneers with 15 in the loss, which is the sixth in seven games and drops them to 7-10 and 1-3 in the NEC. Trailing by as many as nine midway through the second half, Sacred Heart cut the lead to, 58-55, with 5:15 remaining after Jordan Allen made 1-2 from the line. That foul shot capped five unanswered by the Pioneers, which was started with four straight points from Cane Broome. From there, the Red Flash sealed the game from the charity stripe, starting with four straight from Brown over the next two possessions to push the lead back to seven with 4:03 left. Brown went 8-8 from the line in the final 4:42, while Harmon added 5-6. SHU twice cut the lead to five, at the 3:54 and 3:02 mark, but could get no closer as SFU answered both times the next time down the court. SHU outrebounded the Red Flash, 44-35, but Saint Francis held a significant advantage in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw percentage. SFU shot 22-45 (48.9 percent) from the field and 7-17 (41.2 percent) from the beyond the arch. The Pioneers could only manage a 24-65 shooting night (36.9 percent), while making only three trifectas on 13 attempts. The Red Flash outscored Sacred Heart, 27- 17, from the foul line and shot thirty percent better, 78.8 percent – 58.6 percent.
Scouting Saint Francis U... The Red Flash have started the season 9-6 overall, and sit atop the Northeast Conference tied with four teams at 3-1. After falling at Bryant, 80-54, last Thursday night, SFU bounced back to defeat Sacred Heart, 77-68, last Saturday. SFU has won six of its previous eight, including the NEC's first ever victory over a Big Ten team when it defeated Rutgers, 73-68, on December 20. The Red Flash lead the Northeast Conference in points per game allowed, holding opponents to an average of 64.1. SFU boasts the best FG percentage, surpassing SHU last game with a percentage of 44.9. They also rank first in three pointers made per game, averaging 7.9 makes on a conference-best 37.5 percent shooting. SFU ranks in the top three in a number of other categories as well, including opponents three point percentage (.303), assists (12.3), and turnover average (12.2). The Red Flash are led by preseason All-NEC selection Earl Brown, who leads SFU scoring 15.6 points per contest on 55.2 percent shooting and is coming off a double double on Saturday. Those numbers both rank in the top four in the conference. Brown also ranks second on the team in rebounding at 6.9 per game, behind Ronnie Drinnon's 7.6 per contest. The two rank third and sixth in the NEC, respectively. Malik Harmon is the only other Red Flash member of the team averaging double figures, at 10.8 per game, including a career-high 25 on Saturday. Harmon is also tied for the team lead in assists with Greg Brown, with both averaging 3.0. The two rank 10th and 11th in the conference, respectively. Ollie Jackson leads the NEC in three-point percentage and ranks sixth in three pointers made per game, averaging 1.9 makes while shooting 45.2 percent.
Common Opponent... Both teams have played against Rutgers. The Red Flash defeated the Scarlet Knights, 73-68, on December 20, while the Pioneers fell to RU three days later, 79-54.
Career Numbers vs. Saint Francis U...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Steve Glowiak (6-2) 5.7 2.2 1.2 24.7
Phil Gaetano (5-4) 4.8 2.2 5.0 30.4
Kelley (4-2) 10.0 3.0 1.8 27.5
Tevin Falzon (4-1) 3.5 4.0 0.3 13.8
De'von Barnett (2-2) 12.5 6.0 0.5 27.0
Broome (1-1) 12.0 7.0 1.0 34.0
Allen (1-0) 5.0 4.0 - 22.0
Chris Robinson (1-0) 6.0 5.0 1.0 13.0
Filip Nowicki (1-0) 4.0 1.0 - 12.0
High Percentage Shooting...The matchup will feature the first and second highest shooting percentage teams in the Northeast Conference. After the gam on Saturday, the two teams traded places, as SFU now leads the NEC with a 44.9 shooting percentage, while SHU is now second, shooting 44.5 percent.
Stifling Defense... Each team ranks in the top two in the conference in a major defensive category. SHU ranks second in opposing FG percentage, holding foes to 42.4 percent shooting, while SFU ranks first in points allowed per game, at 64.1. The teams also both rank in the top five in opponents shooting percentage, as SHU is second holding teams to 42.4 percent shooting, and SFU is fifth, with opponents shooting 43.8 percent.
Expect Assists.... The two teams rank first and second in the NEC in assists per game. Sacred Heart leads the way, averaging 14.3 per contest, while SFU tallies 12.3 each time out.
High Disparities...The Pioneers could have an advantage on the glass, as they rank third in the league averaging 37.8 per game, compared to the Red Flash who only rank ninth with an average of 31.2. On the other side, Saint Francis has a big edge in three point shooting. SFU leads the conference in both three pointers made per game and there point percentage, while SHU ranks in the bottom three in the league in each.
We Meet Again.... Sacred Heart has not played back-to-back games against the same opponent since facing Bryant twice in a row on February 8 and 11, 2012.
Road Worries... The Pioneers have lost 13 of their last 15 on the road, including a 1-6 start this season. Sacred Heart has not won a game away from the Pitt Center since its December 3 win at Colgate.
Notes
-With eleven assists over the past two games, Gaetano moved into second place on SHU's all-time assists list, passing Johnny Burkette and Carl Winfree with 645 for his career.
-Falzon has recorded double-digit rebounds in each of his past three games. Coming into the stretch, the junior had only had four career double-digit rebounding performances.
-After scoring a career- low two points against Yale, Broome has started his NEC career averaging 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 steals in the first four games.
-Kelley is looking to become the 38th player in Sacred Heart history to surpass 1,000 career points, as he currently sits at 977 for his career.
