EMMITSBURG, Md. – Tevin Falzon gave the Sacred Heart men's basketball team a late two-point lead by hitting two free throws with 1:02 remaining, but Mount St. Mary's would score the final seven points of the game to ultimately edge the Pioneers 66-61 on Thursday night at Knott Arena. The loss snaps SHU's three-game winning streak and drops the Pioneers to 7-6 in the league and 8-16 overall, a tie for fifth in the Northeast Conference standings.

Falzon's two free throws capped a 7-0 run, as Sacred Heart held Mount (11-15, 8-5 NEC) scoreless for over four minutes ahead the final minute. Quincy McKnight began it with a three-point play at the 3:44 mark before Cane Broome tied the game with 2:25 to go. After both teams turned it over following Broome's trifecta, the Pioneers forced a miss to set up the go-ahead possession. Falzon grabbed an offensive rebound and got fouled on the putback.

It took just nine seconds for Mount St. Mary's to erase those two free throws. Junior Robinson, who scored 16 of his game-high 26 in the second half, converted his third three-point play of the half to put the Mountaineers on top for good. SHU turned it over on a shot clock violation the next possession and Robinson made two of two from the line for a three-point advantage, 64-61. Falzon had a chance to tie it but his three with seven seconds left rimmed out.

Sacred Heart held Mount to 37.9 percent shooting but turned the ball over 21 times. This led to Mount St. Mary's taking 18 more shots and making just two more than the Pioneers, as the Mountaineers also had 16 offensive rebounds. 

Broome paced SHU, scoring 20 to go along with five rebounds for his 13^th 20-point performance of the season. McKnight and Jordan Allen each added 12. McKnight also had six rebounds, while Allen had five caroms and team-highs of three assists and two steals. Falzon led the Pioneers with seven rebounds. 

Sacred Heart looks to bounce back on Saturday, hosting in-state rival Central Connecticut as part of a "Health Day" doubleheader with the women, who tip at 1 pm.

Noteworthy

• The two teams have now split the last eight meetings.

Inside the Box

• Sacred Heart led for the first 30:52 of the game and was on top for a total of 26:37 compared to Mount's 10:14
• SHU was one miss shy, 23-48, of eclipsing fifty percent from the field for just fourth time this season
• Despite turning the ball over 21 times, Sacred Heart was outscored just 18-15 in points off of turnovers
• The rebounding battle was nearly even with SHU grabbing one more, 34-33
• Bot teams struggled from beyond the arch as neither eclipsed 25 percent. Sacred Heart shot 4-17 (23.5 percent) and Mount made just 5-24 (20.8)

How it Happened

• First Half
  • Sacred Heart jumped on Mount St. Mary's with the first seven points of the game ending with Broome's three-point play 2:14 into the game
  • The lead reached a first half high nine points when McKnight quickly stole an inbounds pass after a Broome layup and finished a layup of his own to cap six unanswered for a 21-12 advantage with 7:20 remaining
  • Mount chipped away and shortly later had gotten as close as one, 25-24, when Wray converted a three-point play at the 4:48 mark
  • Again it was SHU scoring seven in a row though, taking 1:34 to go ahead 32-25. Allen had the first four before Robinson drained a triple
  • The Mountaineers came back with the next four points but Robinson got fouled on a three-point shot and hit one of three to make the score 33-29 at the break

• Second Half
  • SHU led until Wray made a layup to put Mount St. Mary's on top for the first time, 40-39, with 14:08 to go
  • The Mountaineers went ahead 45-41 when Robinson capped a 9-2 spurt with a deep shot clock beating triple 1:44 later
  • Sacred Heart then came back with an 8-2 flurry to retake a two-point lead, 49-47, lead when McKnight made one of two free throws at the 9:30 mark
  • Wray tied the game 25 seconds later before Sean Hoehn answered with a triple for a three-point lead with 8:50 left
  • Then came a 10-2 MSM run to tie the Mountaineers' largest lead, 59-54, when Gregory Graves nailed a jumper with an even five minutes on the clock
  • That began SHU's 7-0 run