SHU Looks to Clinch Six Seed On Senior Day Against LIU Brooklyn
2/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Setting the Scene... The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team looks to clinch the six seed in the upcoming NEC tournament with a win, as it hosts LIU Brooklyn in its regular season finale in the William H. Pitt Center on Saturday at 3:30 pm. Before the game, SHU will honor the senior class of 2015, which includes Evan Kelley, Phil Gaetano, and Steve Glowiak. The tip will follow the women's game, which begins at 1 pm.
NEC Standings... With a win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday night, Sacred Heart moved into a three-way tie for sixth place, improving its conference record to 8-9. The Blackbirds are one of those teams tied with SHU, as they fell to 8-9 with a loss to St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday.
Playoff Scenarios... With a win, Sacred Heart will clinch a six seed in the upcoming Northeast Conference tournament, and will travel to the third seed for its quarterfinal game. If they lose, the Pioneers will either be the seventh or eight seed, depending on Wagner's result at Mount St. Mary's. A Wagner loss would give SHU the seventh seed, while a win would drop them to eighth.
Series History... Sacred Heart and LIU Brooklyn have met 28 times dating back to 1997, which was the only meeting in which SHU was a Division II member. LIU holds a 19-9 advantage in the all-time series, including winning the first seven before the Pioneers won three straight. They have had a strong advantage as of late as well, winning eight of the past nine dating back to 2010, as well as three straight. SHU's best winning streak in the series is three games, which has occurred twice, from 2003-04 and again in 2007-08. LIU Brooklyn holds the edge in Brooklyn and Fairfield, and was also victorious in the only time the two teams played in the postseason in 2012 Northeast Conference quarterfinals. The Blackbirds have been especially dominant in Brooklyn, where they are 11-3 all-time against the Pioneers, including winning the past six, as well as eight of nine dating back to 2005. The series is much more even in the William H. Pitt Center, with the Blackbirds holding a 7-6 edge thanks to winning three of the past four.
Last Meeting...With the game tied at 79 in double overtime, a Joel Hernandez three-pointer with 1:25 remaining would prove to be the game winner, as LIU Brooklyn defeated the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team, 82-81, in Brooklyn on January 8. Evan Kelley led five SHU players in double figures with 17 points as well as seven rebounds in the loss, while Tevin Falzon had a game-high 12 rebounds and five blocks Elvar Fridriksson scored a game-high 18 points and also dished out a team-high seven assists for the Blackbirds.Jordan Allen scored on the next possession down the court following the three to get within one point with 55 seconds left in the game. After stopping LIU, the Pioneers had one more opportunity to take the lead, but could not get a shot off after an offensive foul was called with 2.6 seconds showing. After missing the first free throw after a foul, Gerrell Martin intentionally missed the second, and Sacred Heart could not get a shot off before the buzzer.Both teams shot under forty percent for the game. The Pioneers went 33-83 (39.8 percent), while the Blackbirds shot 24-68 (35.3 percent). LIU made five more threes, 11-6, and outshot SHU, 40.7 percent -25.0 percent, from beyond the arch. Sacred Heart won the rebounding battle, 60-51, but could not overcome a 9-23 performance (39.1 percent) from the foul line and 17 turnovers. The 60 rebounds were the most by a NEC team since Quinnipiac had 61 on January 7, 2012. LIU went 23-33 (69.7 percent) at the charity stipe and committed 21 turnovers.
Scouting LIU Brooklyn... After previously winning four straight, and six of seven, the Blackbirds are currently on a three game skid after most recently losing to cross-town rival St. Francis Brooklyn, 74-69, in overtime on Thursday night. LIU is tied for sixth with the Pioneers in the NEC standings at 8-9 and are currently 12-16 overall. Gerrell Martin is the leading scorer for the Blackbirds, averaging 11.4 points per game thanks in large part to making 1.9 threes per game on 41.1 percent shooting, which are both top eight in the NEC. Freshmen Martin Hermannsson and Elvar Fridriksson contribute average of 10.0 and 8.7 points respectively, good for second and fourth on the team. The two are also in the top eight of the league in assists, with Fridriksson averaging 3.6 and Hermannsson dishing out 3.4 per contest. Nura Zanna, yet another freshman, who is third on the team with an average of 8.8 points, pulls down a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per game and also has the eighth best shooting percentage in the conference at 48.9 percent.
Career Numbers vs. LIU Brooklyn...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Phil Gaetano (6-4) 5.5 3.0 8.7 32.0
Steve Glowiak (5-3) 7.0 2.3 0.5 22.0
Evan Kelley (5-4) 12.0 4.4 3.2 33.6
De'von Barnett (2-2) 11.0 6.5 - 29.0
Tevin Falzon (3-1) 4.3 7.7 0.7 25.3
Cane Broome (1-1) 16.0 5.0 2.0 43.0
Jordan Allen (1-0) 12.0 8.0 2.0 29.0
Filip Nowicki (1-0) 4.0 2.0 - 9.0
-Gaetano is averaging 7.3 points and 9.8 assists in the last four meetings.
-Glowiak is averaging 10.0 points in the last four matchups.
-Kelley has scored at least 15 in the last three meetings, averaging 15.7 over that span.
-Barnett was rebound shy of a double double with 12 points in the game earlier this year on January 8, while Allen was two rebounds shy, also contributing 12 points.
-Broome played a career high 43 minutes in the double overtime contest on January 8, while both Kelley and Falzon recorded season highs, playing 42 and 39, respectively. Falzon also recorded 12 rebounds in that game.
-Three Pioneers, Barnett, Broome, and Glowiak, all tied season highs with three steals each in the first matchup.
Shooting Disparity... Saturday's game features the team with the best shooting percentage in the NEC against the team with the lowest. SHU is leading the conference, shooting 45.8 percent, while the Blackbirds are only making 38.9 percent from the field.
Battle on the Boards... Both teams come into the game with good rebounding numbers. The Pioneers are second in the league, averaging 38.2 rebounds, and are one of three teams with a positive rebounding margin, at + 1.7. LIU is third and fourth respectively, as they pull down both 37.7 rebounds per game and are getting outrebounded by an average of 0.6 each time out.
Returning to Winning Ways... Improving to 8-9 in the conference on Thursday, SHU quadrupled its conference win total from 2013-14, when it only went 2-14. The Pioneers had not won eight conference games since the 2012 NEC season. 2011-12 was also the last time Sacred Heart won 14 games in a regular season. The Pioneers have not won 15 games in a regular season since 2008-09, when SHU went 17-14 on the year.
Home Court Advantage... With the home win last Thursday, the Pioneers are 9-5 in the William H. Pitt Center. The nine wins are the most for the program since a 9-4 home campaign in the 2009-10 season.
-Sacred Heart has not won ten games at home since the 2008-09 season, when it went 10-4 for the year.
Quite Some February... With the win on Thursday, Sacred Heart clinched its first winning month since January of 2013, when it went 6-3. The Pioneers have started the month 5-2, more than doubling its win total from the past two Februarys combined. The Pioneers won one game each in the month the past two campaigns.
-SHU has not won six games in February since the 2008-09 season, when it went 6-2.
Rebounding Margin... Sacred Heart outrebounded Fairleigh Dickinson, 48-22, on Thursday. The + 26 rebounding margin is the largest rebounding margin for Sacred Heart in a game dating back till at least 2002-03.
Offensive Outburst... The 61.0 percent (36-59) shooting on Thursday night at FDU was the highest field goal percentage in a game by Sacred Heart since January 29, 2011, when it shot 61.9 percent in an, 84-75, win over Robert Morris.
-The 90 points were the second highest total for SHU this season, and only the fourth time in the past five seasons that the Pioneers have cracked the 90-point barrier.
