SHU Opens NEC Play With Preseason Favorite, St. Francis Brooklyn, on Saturday
1/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game 14: Sacred Heart (6-7, 0-0 NEC) vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (6-7, 0-0 NEC)
January 3, 2014 3:30 pm - William H. Pitt Center (2,067) - Fairfield, Conn.
Setting the Scene... Sacred Heart begins its Northeast Conference season with a 3:30 pm tip against preseason favorite, St. Francis Brooklyn, on Saturday at the William H. Pitt Center. The game will be the second of a conference doubleheader with the women, who play at 1 pm.
2014-15 Preseason NEC Poll... Sacred Heart was selected to finish tenth in the Preseason NEC Coaches poll, while St. Francis Brooklyn was chosen as the preseason favorites as they received 6 of the 10 first place votes:
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
All-Time in NEC... 2014-15 marks the 16th season for Sacred Heart as a member of the Northeast Conference. SHU's all-time record in the conference is 165-286 (.366).
NEC Openers.... The Pioneers are 9-6 all-time in NEC openers after losing to Robert Morris last year, 79-70, on January 9. Even with that loss, Sacred Heart has won 7 of its last 9 conference openers, including a five game win streak from 2005-06 to 2009-10. SHU has never had longer than a two-game losing streak in NEC openers, having only lost two straight in its first two years in the league in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
-Sacred Heart has never met St. Francis Brooklyn in its conference opener.
Series History... Sacred Heart and St. Francis Brooklyn have met 26 times throughout the past 18 years, with the Terriers holding a 17-9 edge in the series. The Terriers have especially been successful as of late, winning three straight over SHU and six of the past seven. The series dates back to when SHU was a Division II school on December 11, 1997, with St. Francis Brooklyn prevailing, 76-61. The Pioneers have had most of their success against the Terriers at the William H. Pitt Center, splitting the 12 meetings, including going 4-3 in the past seven. St. Francis Brooklyn has been dominant on its home court winning 11 of 14, including the first seven ever meetings. The Pioneers best stretch against the Terriers was a four game winning streak from 2008-10, while St. Francis Brooklyn won six straight from 2003-06.
Last Meeting... Sacred Heart dropped its fifth consecutive game on January 29, falling to the Terriers, 83-78, at the William H. Pitt Center. Sacred Heart had five players in double figures, including Evan Kelley (Norwalk, CT) who led the way with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Freshman De'von Barnett (Waldorf, MD) scored 12 points, while Louis Montes (Brockton, MA) and Chris Evans (Stamford, CT) each chipped in with 11. Off the bench, center Cole Walton (Bellevue, WA) scored a career-high ten points. For Saint Francis Brooklyn, Brent Jones had a dazzling night with 28 points, 8 assists, and just one turnover. The trio of Jones, Jalen Cannon and Ben Mockford combined for 59 of SFBK's 83 points. Saint Francis Brooklyn was hot out the gate, connecting on eight of its first twelve shots from the field to jump out to an early 19-7 lead. The Pioneers were finally able to cut it to one possession at 68-65 for the first time since SFBK led 5-4 with a 7-0 run with 2:32 left. Montes and Kelley both converted lay-ups, followed by a quick Kelley steal and a pass to Montes for a lay-up plus the foul. Montes would complete the three-point play.As they did all game, Saint Francis Brooklyn responded with a basket on the other end. Cannon knocked down a jumper to put them back up five, 70-65. The Pioneers kept scoring as the game winded down but the Terriers made 12 consecutive free throws in the final 1:08 of the game to salt the win.
Scouting St. Francis Brooklyn... After beginning the season with five straight losses, the preseason Northeast Conference favorite is streaking heading into conference play four of their last five, including three straight. The Terriers come into Saturday's contest with a 6-7 record, after most recently defeating Columbia, 72-64, on Tuesday. St. Francis Brooklyn gets it done with its rebounding, as it is outrebounding foes by an average of seven per game, which ranks 33rd in the nation. They rank sixth in the nation averaging 15.6 offensive boards per game. The Leading the charge is NEC-leader, Jalen Cannon, who averages 9.6 per contest, which ranks 24th nationwide. Cannon also leads the Terriers in scoring, averaging 14.3 per game. Also in double digits is Brent Jones, who is scoring 13.8 each time out, and leads the conference and ranks 15th nationally with 32 steals. Jones has also dished out a team-high 4.5 assists per contest, which ranks second in the conference behind Phil Gaetano.
Common Opponent... Both teams have lost to Rutgers. SHU fell to the Scarlet Knights, 79-54, on December 23, while the Terriers lost a close game, 76-73, on November 23.
Career Numbers vs. St. Francis Brooklyn...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Phil Gaetano (6-5) 7.0 2.0 7.7 33.3
Steve Glowiak (5-2) 5.6 5.4 0.6 22.8
Kelley (3-1) 9.3 2.3 1.3 29.7
Barnett (2-2) 9 4.5 - 26.5
Tevin Falzon (2-0) 9 4.5 0.5 23.0
Walton (2-0) 9 3.5 1 16.5
Winning in the Pitt... Prior to the loss on Tuesday against Yale, SHU had won four straight in the William H. Pitt Center. 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.
Success Before the New Year... Sacred Heart's six win before the New Year were the most the program has had since 2011, when it won seven.
Continuing to Lose Close... With the six-point loss to Yale, 16 of the Pioneers' past 20 losses have been by single digits, including 10 of their 14 losses in NEC play last season.
Good Bye December... After only averaging 63.2 points on 40.1 percent shooting while going 2-3 in November, Sacred Heart averaged 75.5 points on 49.2 percent shooting en route to a 4-4 December record.
Breaking the Top 100... Sacred Heart ranks in the top 100 in the nation in two categories:
Assists per Game (81st) 14.5
FG Percentage (88th) 45.7
Top Rated Offense... Heading into conference play, SHU ranks first in the NEC in both scoring offense (70.8) and FG percentage (.457).
-In wins, the offense is averaging 78.5 points on 53.3 percent shooting, while in losses the offense has only managed 64.1 points per game on 39.4 percent shooting from the floor.
-At the William H. Pitt Center, the Pioneers average 74.5 points on 50.23percent shooting, as opposed to 67.0 points per contest on 39.7 percent shooting away from home.
-Sacred Heart boasts three of the top seven qualified shooters in the NEC:
Jordan Allen 1st .652
Barnett 3rd .538
Cane Broome 7th .489
Assisting at a High Rate ... -The Pioneers also lead the NEC in both assists per game (14.5) and assist/turnover ratio (1.04).
-SHU is the only team with three players in the top fifteen in the conference in assists.
Gaetano 1st 5.8 apg
Broome 10th 2.7
Kelley 14th 2.3
