SHU Puts Three Game Winning Streak on Line at First Place St. Francis Brooklyn Saturday
2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game 27: Sacred Heart (12-14, 6-7 NEC) at St. Francis Brooklyn (17-9, 11-2 NEC)
February 14, 2015 4:00 pm - Pope Physical Education Center (1,200) - Brooklyn, N.Y.
Setting the Scene... The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team looks for its four game winning streak since 2009 when it travels to first place St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. The pm tip will come after the women's teams play at 1 pm.
NEC Standings... Despite the current three game-winning streak, Thursday's win was the first time SHU has moved up in the standings. The Pioneers are now tied with Wagner in seventh place with a 6-7 league record. The Terriers, who currently hold a two game edge for first place at 11-2, look to move closer to the one seed with just five games remaining.
Series History... Sacred Heart and St. Francis Brooklyn have met 27 times throughout the past 18 years, with the Terriers holding an 18-9 edge in the series. The Terriers have especially been successful as of late, winning four straight over SHU and seven of the past eight. 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 Northeast Conference opener 73-71 to Saint Francis Brooklyn on January 3 at the William H. Pitt Center. Brent Jones scored the go-ahead basket with 28 seconds left after Tevin Falzon (Newton, Mass.) scored four consecutive points to put SHU in front, 71-70 with 59.1 seconds to play. Jones drove the left side of the paint and scooped a shot that found the basket as the shot clock ran down. On the ensuing possession, the Pioneers had a shot blocked and another rim out, ending up in the arms of Jalen Cannon. Cannon made 1-2 free throws with just over three seconds remaining and Evan Kelley's (Norwalk, Conn.) three-point attempt from midcourt was too strong.SHU shot 44.6 percent from the field for the game with four three pointers, all in the first-half. The Pioneers were led by Kelley's 18 points, to go along with a team-best eight rebounds. Cane Broome(East Hartford, Conn.) tallied 13 points, while Jordan Allen (Bayshore, N.Y.) scored 11 points. Phil Gaetano (Wallingford, Conn.) handed out eight assists.SFBK received a double-double from Cannon, who finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Tyreek Jewell scored 15 points and Brent Jones finished with 13 points and seven assists. The Terriers shot 42.4 percent from the field for the game, and finished with a 39-35 edge in rebounding.
Scouting St. Francis Brooklyn... Winners of five straight and eight of nine, the Terriers have established a two game lead in the Northeast Conference. Their, 83-66, win over Wagner tonight brought their record to 17-9 and 11-2 in league play. Five of their past six victories have come by at least nine points. SFBK is the dominant rebinding squad in the NEC, outrebounding foes by 5.7 per game. They also lead the league in blocks with an average of 5.0 per contest. The Terriers are efficient on both the offensive and defensive end, ranking third in points per game and third in opposing points. They are also fourth in both field goal percentage and opposing field goal percentage. Spearheading the St. Francis Brooklyn season are two NEC Player of the Year candidates. Jalen Cannon is averaging a double double, scoring 16.5 points and grabbing 10.0 boards per game, which ranks fourth and first in the conference respectively. Cannon also ranks in the top eight in the NEC in field goal percentage, blocks, and minutes played. Jones is right behind him with an average of 14.3 points, ranking seventh in the league, as well as dishing out the second most assists per contest, 5.4. Jones also leads the conference in steals, 2.1, and ranks in the top twelve in free throw percentage, three point percentage, and three pointers made, assist/turnover ratio, and minutes.
Career Numbers vs. St. Francis Brooklyn...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Gaetano (7-6) 6.4 1.9 7.7 32.7
Steve Glowiak (6-2) 5.5 4.8 0.7 22.5
Kelley (4-2) 11.5 3.8 1.5 31.0
De'von Barnett (3-3) 8.0 3.3 - 24.3
Falzon (3-1) 9.0 5.7 0.7 23.3
Broome (1-1) 13.0 2.0 1.0 34.0
Allen (1-0) 11.0 4.0 - 22.0
Filip Nowicki (1-0) 6.0 4.0 1.0 15.0
High Scoring Affair... The two teams are the highest scoring offenses in the Northeast Conference, with Sacred Heart averaging a league-high 72.5 and the Terriers scoring 69.5 per game.
One & Two.. In addition to ranking one and two in scoring average, the two teams are also first and second in three other categories. Sacred Heart leads the NEC in both rebounding, 37.9, and assists, 14.2, with St. Francis Brooklyn right behind them at 37.7 and 12.4 respectively. The Terriers are leading the pack in blocks at 5.0 per contest, with SHU averaging 3.5.
Rebounding Battle.... This matchup features two of the three teams in the league who on average are outrebounding opponents. SFBK leads the way with a rebounding margin of 5.7. The Pioneers rebound foes by an average of 1.0 per contest.
Playing Inside the Three-Point Line... Both squads rank in the bottom for the conference in both three pointers made and three-point percentage.
In the Midst of a Tough Stretch... Saturday will be the seventh 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 4-2 in the stretch so far.
Tripling Conference Wins... After winning its sixth conference win at Mount St. Mary's on Thursday, SHU has won triple its NEC win total from 2013-14, when it only won two.
Surpassing February Win Total... With the 3-0 start to February this season, Sacred Heart has already won as more February games as the last two seasons combined. The Pioneers won one game each in the month the past two campaigns.
Four Game Win Streak... With the win at Mount, SHU won three straight NEC games for the first time since January 19-26, 2013, when it won three straight over Saint Francis U, Bryant, and Monmouth. The Pioneers have not won four straight, in or out of conference, since February 14-March 5, 2009, when they won six straight. Since then they have had seven three-game winnings streaks that they have failed to extend to four games.
Multiple Three Game Winning Streaks... Sacred Heart also won three straight games earlier this season from November 30-December 6. The last time SHU had multiple three game winning streaks in a season was in 2010-11.
Back-to-Back Road Wins... Coming off the victory at the Mount, Sacred Heart will be looking for consecutive wins on the road for the first time since defeating Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth back-to-back on January and 8, 2011.
Road Worries... Despite the road win on Thursday, the Pioneers have gone 3-9 on the road this season, including 2-4 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.
