NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – After eight unanswered points cut a Sacred Heart lead to 59-58 with 5:31 remaining, the Pioneers scored the next six to spark a 17-6 run to close the game in a season-opening win over Quinnipiac on Friday night at Detrick Gymnasium. 

The Bobcats would score just one point over the next 4:14, as SHU built a 72-59 lead with 1:17 to go. A pair of Chris Robinson free throws created the initial separation ten seconds after the deficit was cut to one, before Cane Broome scored the next four points, including a layup with 4:05 left to go up 65-58.

Following a Bobcat free throw to momentarily bring the score back within six, Sacred Heart scored the next seven points. Eyimofe Edukugho and Quincy McKnight each contributed layups before two Broome free throws put an exclamation point on the surge. 

Broome doubled the scoring output of any other playing, pouring in a career-high 27 points, including going 12-20 from the line, which tied a school record for attempts with Bob Gers at Stonehill on January 13 ,1971. He also set a new career-best with four steals, and added a team-high six rebounds.

Also with a new career-high in points was Edukugho, who came off the bench to score 11 points to go along with six rebounds. McKnight was also in double figures, as was Jordan Allen, as the two tallied 13 and 11 respectively. Playing in his first career collegiate game, McKnight added four steals, four rebounds, and a team-high three assists.

Daniel Harris led three Bobcats in double figures with 13 points. James Ford added 11 points and a game-high nine rebound.

The Pioneers will begin a six-game stretch on the road on Monday, traveling to New Haven for an in-state matchup with Yale. The Bulldogs opened the season by defeating Fairfield, 70-57, in the opening game of the day.

Inside the Numbers

• In a game with 61 combined fouls, the teams combined to shoot 84 free throws, 51 of which were by SHU. The 51 foul shots were the most in a game for SHU in the Division I era. The previous high was 44 in a February 15, 2005 game against St. Francis Brooklyn Although the Pioneers only managed to convert 28 of those attempts for 54.9 percent, they still performed better than Quinnipiac's 42.4 percent (14-33). Interestingly enough, the Bobcats led the MAAC last season with a 77.3 percentage. 
• Quinnipiac, the nation's leading rebounding team in 2014-15, outrebounded the Pioneers 60-43.
• With both teams shooting under forty percent, Sacred heart held Quinnipiac to 32.8 percent from the field, the lowest an opponent has shot since Holy Cross managed just 32.4 percent on December 6 of last year. Shooting just 38.3 percent themselves, it was just the Pioneers' second win in the last three seasons when shooting under 40 percent.

Noteworthy

• Sacred Heart is now 5-2 all-time in the Connecticut 6
• Following a McKnight foul shot with 8:50 left in the first, just SHU's third lead of the evening, the Pioneers led for the final 28:50 of the game.
• The Pioneers are now 7-2 in their past nine regular season games

How it Happened

First Half

• Two teams combined six of 28 through the first 8:05
• An Alain Chigha three pointer with 11:23 on the clock gave Quinnipiac its largest lead of the game, 12-7.
• Robinson responded with a three-pointer on the next possession down the court, sparking a 16-5 run
• Broome capped the stretch with seven straight points over a 35 second span, beginning with a trifecta and ending with a transition layup to put SHU ahead 23-17 with 5:57 remaining
• Quinnipiac would get as close as two twice, at 25-23 and 26-24, but a driving Broome layup at the buzzer gave the Pioneers a 30-25 cushion heading into the break

Second Half

• Quinnipiac also got within one point, 35-34, after a Harris three-pointer with 14:50 on the clock.
• A transition layup by McKnight following a Sean Hoehn steal put the Pioneers ahead 46-38 at the 11:36 mark.
• The lead also reached eight when yet another Hoehn steal led to a transition layup by Edukugho with 9:39 left
• Sacred Heart went up what at the time was the largest lead of the game, 57-48, after Broome stole an inbound pass following a McKnight layup and converted on a layup of his own with 8:47 remaining
• After Edukugho gave the Pioneers the aforementioned 59-50 advantage with 7:45 on the clock, Harris began and ended the 8-0 run with three-pointers