Pioneers Travel to Mount Thursday Looking for Third Straight Win
2/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game 26: Sacred Heart (11-14, 5-7 NEC) at Mount St. Mary's (11-12, 7-5 NEC)
February 12, 2015 7:00 pm - Knott Arena (3,121) - Emmitsburg, Md.
Setting the Scene... Winners of four of its past six, the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team puts a two game-winning streak on the line when it travels to Emitsburg to face Mount St. Mary's on Thursday night. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3, FCS, and MASN.
NEC Standings... Despite the recent success, the Pioneers still sit in eighth place in the NEC at 5-7, one game behind LIU Brooklyn and Wagner for the sixth spot. SHU holds a three game lead over FDU for the final conference tournament spot with six games remaining. The Mountaineers are battling for the final first round home game, as they are tied with Saint Francis U in fourth with a 7-5 league mark.
Series History... The two teams first met in 1986, a neutral win by Mount St. Mary's. After that meeting, the series went on a hiatus until Sacred Heart joined the Northeast Conference in 1999-2000. The Mount has one 20 of those 28 contests in NEC play, including the first three, for a commanding 21-8 edge in the all-time series. Before SHU's win last year, the Mountaineers had won nine straight, including five straight in Emmitsburg, where they are 11-3 all-time against the Pioneers. Mount St. Mary's also holds the advantage, 9-5, in the William H. Pitt Center, including winning the past five and six of the last seven after its, 77-71, on January 31. Sacred Heart's most successful stretch in the series was three consecutive wins in 2002-03. The Mount has also won both postseason matchups, which came in consecutive years. They first defeated SHU in the 2008 NEC championship game and then again in the 2009 semifinals.
Last Meeting... Sacred Heart cut a 17-point second half deficit to as small as five with 1:13 remaining, but could get no closer as Mount St. Mary's pulled away to win, 71-66, on January 31 at the William H. Pitt Center. Tevin Falzon recorded his fourth double double of the season, with team highs of 19 points, 17 of which were in the second half, and 10 rebounds, while Evan Kelley added 15 for the Pioneers. Mount St. Mary's shot 12-24 from beyond the arch and 19-20 form the line, including 16-16 in the second half. Byron Ashe matched his career high with 21 points and Gregory Graves added a double double, scoring ten points in addition to a career-high 13 rebounds.
Scouting Mount St. Mary's... After a four game NEC win streak in mid January, the Mountaineers have alternated wins and losses their past six contest, going 3-3 in the past six. They most recently defeated Central Connecticut, 63-46, last Saturday. That win came two days after a, 55-53, defeat at Bryant. Four of the five conference losses for the Mount have either come in overtime or by two points, while five of the seven wins are by double digits. Mount is second in the NEC in opponent's points per game, holding foes to just 64.6 each time out. That number has decreased in conference play, where they lead they league, giving up only 60.0 per contest. Opponents are only shooting 38.9 percent in NEC play, best in the conference. The Mountaineers are also leading the league in three pointers made per game, averaging 7.5, including going 12-24 against SHU in the first matchup. The only other categories in which they rank in the top three of conference are turnover margin and turnover average. The Mountaineers get it done with a balanced attack, as no qualified scorer is averaging double figures. Byron Ashe and Gregory Graves lead the team, each with an average of 9.8. Ashe led the way in the last matchup pouring in 21 points. Eight players in total average at least five points. Graves is also leading the team in rebounding, as his 7.4 rpg rank sixth in the league. Junior Robinson dishes out a team-high 3.2 apg.
Career Numbers vs. Mount St. Mary's...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Kelley (6-3) 7.0 3.2 1.5 30.5
Phil Gaetano (5-5) 5.8 4.5 5.8 35.2
Steve Glowiak (5-2) 9.2 3.2 0.6 26.4
Falzon (4-0) 8.8 5.3 0.8 17.8
De'von Barnett (3-3) 14.3 5.3 0.7 29.7
Cane Broome (1-1) 8.0 4.0 1.0 27.0
Filip Nowicki (1-1) - 1.0 - 8.0
Jordan Allen (1-0) 3.0 4.0 2.0 17.0
-Barnett scored a career high 24 points on 12-16 shooting in the last meeting between the two schools on February 27, 2014.
-Glowiak is averaging 11.0 points over the past three meetings, scoring at least eight in each of those contests. His career high in steals, 4, came against the Mount on February 2, 2013.
-Kelley has averaged 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in his last two games against Mount.
-Gaetano registered 11 points and 7 assists in the win in Emmitsburg last season.
-One of Falzon's four double doubles on the year came against Mount on January 31, when he scored 19 and grabbed 10 boards.
Contrasting Styles... Sacred Heart, which scores the most points and the league as well gives up the most points, see its games average 150 points total during NEC play. Mountaineer games on the other hand only average 125.
Edge on the Glass.... SHU will look to control the boards, as they lead the league in rebounds and rank third with a +0.9 rebounding margin. Mount is second to last with a rebounding margin of - 3.8.
Assist Difference... Sacred Heart is leading the NEC, dishing out 14.3 assists per contest, while Mountaineers are second to last with an average of 11.1.
Three Point Disparity... As mentioned, Mount makes the most baskets from beyond the arch in the NEC. The Pioneers however rank tenth in percentage (.305) and ninth in makes (4.8).
In the Midst of a Tough Stretch... Thursday will be the sixth straight game against a team in the top five of the NEC rankings for Sacred Heart, which started with the game at Bryant on January 24. SHU is 3-2 in the stretch so far.
Surpassing February Win Total... With the 2-0 start to February this season, Sacred Heart has already won as many February games as the last two seasons combined. After wining one February in 2012-13, its only February win last season came at the Mount.
Three Game NEC Win Streak... Sacred Heart will be looking for its first three game winning streak in the Northeast Conference since 2013, when it won three straight from January 19-26.
Record on ESPN 3... With the loss to Mount St. Mary's on ESPN on January 31, Sacred Heart is now 2-4 in ESPN 3 games dating back to the 2010-11 season.
Road Worries... The Pioneers have gone 2-9 on the road this season, including 1-4 in the conference.
-At home, SHU's eight wins are the most it has had at the William H. Pitt Center since winning 9 in the 2009-10 season.
Conference Sweep... Sacred Heart's sweep of Bryant was its first of a conference foe since the 2011-12 season, when it swept three opponents, including Bryant.
Offensive Outburst... Sacred Heart has put up its second and third highest point totals in the past two contests. After scoring 86 points on 56.1 percent shooting against Wagner or Thursday, which was the second most points scored and third highest shooting percentage of the season, SHU scored 84 against Bryant on Saturday.
-Five Pioneers scored in double figures for just the third time this season against Wagner. (LIU Brooklyn & Mitchell)
Rare Overtime Success... After not winning a Northeast Conference overtime game since 2001, a streak of twelve straight losses, SHU has now won two straight this season after defeating Bryant in the extra period on Saturday. It also defeated FDU in overtime on January 22.
-Prior to the FDU win, the previous NEC overtime victory came when they defeated FDU, 133-130, in four extra periods on December 1, 2001.
Bench Productivity... Spearheaded by Allen's career high 24 points, the SHU bench scored a season-high 46.4 percent of the team's total points on Saturday against Bryant.
