Sacred Heart Back in Action at Home Against Wagner
1/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sacred Heart (2-12, 1-2 NEC) vs. Wagner (9-5, 2-1 NEC)
Saturday, January 9, 2016 - 3:30 pm - William H. Pitt Center (2,067) - Fairfield, Conn
Game Notes | Video | Live Stats
After entering Thursday with just one home game under its belt so far this season, the Sacred Heart men's basketball team will play its second game in the William H. Pitt Center in three days as it hosts Wagner at 3:30 pm as part of a doubleheader with the women, who tip at 1 pm.
Bridgeport Fire Victims... Sacred Heart University Athletics is asking fans to help support the victims of the New Years Eve fire in Bridgeport, which left 100 people from an apartment complex homeless, during home games this weekend. Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim put out a plea for donations, asking for adult and children's clothing, food, pet food and toys to replace lost holiday gifts. Pioneer student-athletes and staff will deliver all donated items, while any monetary gifts will be submitted to the American Red Cross in Bridgeport. All fans that make a gift valued at $10 or greater will receive a thank you gift from SHU Athletics.
Scouting Wagner... The Seahawks entered Northeast Conference play with the best non-conference mark in the league finishing 7-4. After dropping their NEC opener to Saint Francis U, they have responded by knocking off two of the top three preseason teams, Robert Morris and Bryant, to enter this afternoon's contest 9-5 overall and 2-1 in conference play. They defeated the Bulldogs, who were previously unbeaten in NEC play, 65-56 on Thursday night. Wagner is the top defensive team in the conference, leading the league by holding opponents to 64.9 points per game on 42.5 percent shooting. The Seahawks are also the top rebounding team in the league, averaging 39.6 per contest and outrebounding foes by an average of 6.4 per game, as well as the top free throw shooting team at 73.4 percent. The only categories in which they rank in the bottom three of the league are field goal percentage, shooting 39.0 percent, and assist to turnover ratio. Corey Henson leads Wagner in both points and assists per game, with averages of 14.0 and 3.4 respectively, both in the top ten of the NEC. His 2.9 three pointers per contest and 1.9 assist to turnover ratio are atop the conference. Dwaun Anderson is the only other Seahawk to score in double figures, averaging 11.8 points per game, and ranks in the top 15 of the league in five other categories. Michael Carey leads the rebounding attack, second in the conference with an average of 9.0 per game, and is third on the team averaging 9.5 points.
Last Meeting… 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 February 5 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. 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.
Series History... These two teams first took the court together back in 1974. After meeting again two years later, the series went on a hiatus until SHU joined the Northeast conference in 1999-2000. With the win of February 5, Sacred Heart snapped a five-game losing streak last season, but still trail in the all-time series 19-13. Wagner's five game winning streak had been the second longest in the history of the series, behind only the seven unanswered the Seahawks put together from 2000-2003, after the Pioneers had won the first ever three meetings. Winning those first three is tied for the longest unbeaten stretch for SHU, who also won three straight 2008-10. The Pioneers win last February also broke a three-game losing streak at home, as the series is now tied 8-8 at the William H. Pitt Center. Wagner holds the advantage in Staten Island, where they are 11-5, including winning three in a row. The Pioneers lone edge in the series is an important one. SHU was victorious in both postseason meetings, first in the 2007 NEC quarterfinals and then again the next year in the semifinals.
Career Numbers vs. Wagner...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Tevin Falzon (5-0) 5.2 5.6 0.6 16.6
Cane Broome (2-2) 14.0 3.0 3.0 33.0
Jordan Allen (2-1) 10.5 2.5 1.0 25.5
Eyimofe Edukugho (2-0) 0.5 5.5 0.5 11.5
Filip Nowicki (2-2) 3.0 2.0 - 11.0
Chris Robinson (2-0) 4.0 1.0 - 10.0
Pioneer Points…
- Broome has been on a scoring tear over the past five games, posting game-highs in every contest and averaging 27.4 points. In the process he has taken over the NEC scoring lead at 21.8 points per game, good for 14th in the NCAA.
- Following just his second single digit scoring effort of the season at Hofstra on December 28, Quincy McKnight has opened his Northeast Conference career by averaging 13.7 points. He joins Broome as the only Pioneer in double figures in all three games, and he has taken over the scoring lead among NEC freshman at 12.0 per game, good for 16th in the league
- After missing the NEC opener due to injury, his fifth missed game of the year, Falzon has averaged 15.0 points in the last two games with his second and third highest scoring outputs of the year. He is three rebounds shy of becoming the third active player in the NEC with 500 career rebounds
- Allen has grabbed nine and eight rebounds, respectively, the previous two games, his two highest totals of the season.
0-2 NEC Home Start... Sacred Heart has lost the first two games of its home NEC schedule just six times in 16 years as a member of the league. The last occurrence came in 2011-12.
Back at Home...Finally... SHU is finally set to play its first back-to-back home games of the season on Saturday.
-Outside of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, which has six teams with two or less homes games, Sacred Heart is one of just four NCAA teams that have not played at least three home games yet this season. The others are Monmouth, Hampton and Central Arkansas.
Back-to-Back Home Losses... After going 10-5 at the William H. Pitt Center in 2014-15, its best home record since 2008-09, Sacred Heart has lost back-to-back home games to start its home schedule this season, something the Pioneers did not do last year.
-Prior to the back-to-back losses, SHU was on a four-game winning streak on Coach Dave Bike Court.
