Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – In a game that was not decided until minutes after the final buzzer, the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team survived to defeat Fairleigh Dickinson, 78-77, in overtime on Thursday night at the William H. Pitt Center. A lengthy video review determined Darian Anderson was still in possession of the ball before he got off the potential game-winning shot that would end up falling. De'von Barnett led the Pioneers with a team-high 18 points, including going 8-9 from the line for his sixth straight game in double figures, and Steve Glowiak registered the first double double of his career with 13 points and 10 rebounds. SHU, who let a nine point lead slip away in the final 1:33 of regulation, snaps a four game losing streak to improve to 8-12 and 2-4 in the Northeast Conference. Mustafaa Jones scored a game-high 22 points, while Anderson added 21 in the loss for FDU, who drop to 7-11 and 2-5 in league play with its fifth straight loss.
Evan Kelley scored the eventual game deciding point, going 1-2 from the foul line with just 1:23 remaining in the overtime period. Kelley's free throw came 1:01 after Barnett had broken a 75-75 tie with his layup. A layup by Marques Townes with 1:04 on the clock to cut the deficit to one turned out to be the last point of the game.
The Pioneers held Fairleigh Dickinson to just 36.4 percent (24-66) from the field, including 8-30 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arch, but committed a season-high 25 turnovers, which led to a 25-10 FDU advantage in points off turnovers. SHU shot 44.8 percent (26-58) for the game, including a 51.9 percent (14-27) performance in the second half. The Pioneers also outrebounded the Knights, 49-32.Both teams attempted 30 foul shots, with Sacred Heart making one more, 21-20.
SHU gained the nine-point lead, 70-61, with 1:33 left after Phil Gaetano found a streaking Glowiak for a layup with a full court inbounds pass just two seconds after the Knights had made a free throw. The Pioneers would score just one point the remainder of the contest, as Fairleigh Dickinson closed out regulation scoring ten of the final eleven points to the game at 71.
Just twelve seconds after Glowiak's layup, Anderson drained two foul shots. After a Sacred Heart turnover, Jones then made a three-pointer with 1:06 showing to make the score, 70-66. After yet another SHU giveaway, the Knights got within two when Jones drained two free throws just thirteen seconds later. After the teams traded misses, Glowiak went to the line with a chance to make it a two-possession contest. He would go 1-2 to give the Knights a chance to tie, which they did with an Anderson trifecta with just 16 seconds on the clock. Cane Broome's potential game-winner rimmed out to send the game into overtime.
Glowiak went 2-3 from beyond the arch to tie Corey Hassan for fourth place all-time at SHU with 204 three-point baskets for his career. Broome and Kelley, who was honored before the game for scoring his 1,000th career point before the contest, scored thirteen points each. Barnett added eight rebounds and two steals, while Gaetano dished out a game-high five assists and also registered a contest leading three steals. Chris Robinson scored a season best seven points in just nine minutes off the bench.
Matt MacDonald joined Jones and Anderson in double figures with 13, shooting 3-7 from deep. Xavier Harris pulled down a game-high ten rebounds and also scored eight points. Jones had three steals and went 7-7 from the line. Anderson also made seven from the charity stripe, on nine attempts.
Up 31-28 at half, Fairleigh Dickinson opened the second on a 9-3 run to jump out to its largest lead of the game, 40-31, after two Jones foul shots just 1:21 after the break. The Pioneers answered back with seven straight to cut the lead to just two when Gaetnao buried a three-point basket with 16:55 showing. The seven unanswered were the beginning of a 31-9 surge.
Trading points after Gaeatno's triple, this time Sacred Heart scored nine in a row to take a, 49-44, lead after a Jordan Allen layup at the 11:42 mark. Townes layup ended the flurry, but the Pioneers again went on run, this time scoring seven straight. Glowiak hit a triple in between baskets by Broome and Robinson, the latter which pushed the Pioneer lead to ten, 56-46, with 9:05 left. The advantage reached a game-high eleven after Barnett made a layup to make the score, 59-48, with 8:37 remaining.
FDU got back into the game after the Barnett make with seven straight of its own. After Anderson began the flurry with a layup, MacDonald scored five straight points starting with a trifecta. Townes then forced a steal and his ensuing past found a streaking MacDonald who converted a layup at the 5:39 mark to get the Knights within four, 59-55. After two Barnett free throws regained SHU's a six-point lead, Fairleigh Dickinson would not get closer than five until the late run.
In a first half that saw neither team score for the first 2:43 of the contest and just four points total in the first 4:13, the largest lead was only five. Filip Nowicki's jumper 3:41 before the break to make the score, 26-22, gave Sacred Heart its largest first half lead for the third time. Bryant responded with the next nine take the biggest lead of the half, 31-26, with 1:15 on the clock. Anderson began the run with three free throws after getting fouled on an attempt behind the arch and capped it with a layup. Broome's two foul shots just four seconds before the buzzer brought the score to, 31-28.
The Pioneers will look to carry momentum into a matchup with first place Bryant on Sunday. The two teams will matchup at 4 pm as part of a doubleheader after the women. The Bulldogs are off to a 6-1 start in the NEC, and 9-8 overall, after defeating LIU Brooklyn, 74-69, today. Bryant has won five straight league games after its lone conference loss to St.. Francis Brooklyn on January 5.
