FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Six Pioneers scored at least nine points, and Sacred Heart shot 56.1 percent from the field en route to defeating Wagner, 86-75, on Thursday night at the William H. Pitt Center. After taking the lead at the 10:03 mark of the first half, SHU did not trail for the remainder of the contest, as it snaps a two game losing streak and improves to 10-14 and 4-7 in Northeast Conference play to double both its overall and conference win total from 2013-14. Wagner, who defeated Sacred Heart, 75-64, just last Thursday, falls to 8-14 and 6-5 in the conference.

Evan Kelley led the Pioneers with 19 point on 8-12 shooting and a game-high thee steals. Cane Broome added 16 and, Jordan Allen scored 13 off the bench on a near perfect 5-6 from the floor. De'von Barnett contributed 11 points, while Tevin Falzon was two rebounds shy of his third double double in four games, finishing with 10 points.  Steve Glowiak was one point shy of making it six Pioneers in double figures. Phil Gaetano, who before the game was named CoSIDA Capital One All Academic All-District, had a game-high seven assists. Marcus Burton, who scored 26 in the meeting last week, led the Seahawks with 22, and JoJo Cooper added 14 on 5-7 shooting. Mike Aaman was also two boards shy of a double double with eight points.

Stretching the lead to double figures in the last minute of the first half, SHU did not let the Seahawks get within single digits once after halftime.  Six times the lead was cut to ten, but each time Sacred Heart responded. The first time came after the Seahawks scored four straight, with Hugo Naurais' jumper making the score, 47-37, with 15:57 remaining. Broome answered with a dunk, assisted by Kelley to stretch the lead back to 12.

Wagner's biggest threat came midway through the half. Romone Saunders' layup at the 8:39 mark capped a 6-0 run to bring the Seahawks within ten, 61-51. Gaetano countered with a jumper the next possession, only to have Burton come back with a layup of his own. Glowiak ended the threat with a triple the next time down the court, giving the Pioneers a, 66-53, cushion with just 7:24 left.

The Seahawks would not cut the lead to ten again until there was just 2:17 showing. They twice got within eleven, two straight possessions after Glowiak's trifecta, but both times Allen converted layups the ensuing trip down the floor to push the lead back to 13. The second sparked a 9-2 flurry producing SHU's biggest lead, 77-59, which would ultimately put the game out of the reach.

Sacred Heart's 86 points were its second highest total of the season, and the 56.1 (32-57) percent shooting performance was its third best. The Seahawks also eclipsed fifty percent from the floor, 50.9 (28-55) percent, but could not overcome 17 turnovers leading to 22 SHU points. The Pioneers made four more free throws, 18-14, with five more attempts. The teams were even on the glass, 31-31.

Both teams jumped out to four point leads early. SHU did so first, scoring the first four points of the game, as Gaetano set up Barnett and Kelley for back-to-back layups. The Seahawks went up, 17-13, its largest lead, with Burton's three point basket at the 11:08 mark, capping five unanswered.

Sacred Heart took control of the first half from there, scoring twelve straight points to go ahead, 25-17, and begin a 29-13 run to end the half. Glowiak first answered Burton's three with a triple of his own, before Chris Robinson made two layups with a Barnett foul shot in between. Allen's layup with 7:28 remaining put the Pioneers up eight.

Wagner would keep it close, responding with its own flurry, 8-2, to cut the deficit to two. Aaman first converted a three-point play on the possession following Allen's layup, and Greg Senat's free throw brought the score to, 27-25, 5:10 before the break.

The Pioneers answered the Seahawks, outscoring them, 15-6, over the final 4:33 to take a commanding, 42-31, lead into the half. Kelley first extended the lead to eight again, 35-27, after his steal and ensuing fast break dunk with 2:47 on the clock. Following the teams trading layups, Kelley went 3-4 from the charity stripe over SHU's final two possessions, the latter with just 27 seconds showing, to increase the lead to a first half high. 

Sacred Heart will welcome second place Bryant, whom it defeated, 83-66, just two Saturdays ago on Saturday at 3:30 pm. The Bulldogs now stand alone in second place in the NEC after holding on to defeat Mount St. Mary's, 55-53, on Thursday night to improve to 8-3 in league play and 11-11 overall. The game will be part of a doubleheader with the SHU and Bryant women, who tip at 1 pm.