SHU Finishes Road Schedule with Battle of Second Place Teams at FDU
2/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sacred Heart (10-16, 9-6 NEC) at Fairleigh Dickinson (13-13, 9-6 NEC)
Saturday, February 20, 2016 - 7:00 pm - Stratis Arena Inside the Rothman Center - Hackensack, N.J.
The Sacred Heart men's basketball team finishes its regular season road schedule with a crucial contest at Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday, in a game that features two of the four teams tied for second place in the Northeast Conference standings at 9-6. The 7 pm tip will be broadcast on ESPN 3.
Back-to-Back...Thursday's victory at Bryant clinched back-to-back NEC tournament appearances for SHU for the first time since the Pioneers made four straight from 2006-09.
Over the Last Eleven... Since its 1-3 start, Sacred Heart's 8-3 record in the last 11 games is the best in the NEC.
Scouting Fairleigh Dickinson... Fairleigh Dickinson is currently in the midst of its first two-game losing streak in Northeast Conference play after falling to Wagner 94-74 on Saturday, dropping from first place to a four-way tie for second place at 9-6 in the league standings. The Knights are the top offensive team in the NEC, leading the league with an average of 77.6 points on 46.3 percent shooting, and dishing out 14.4 assists per contest. Their 12.0 turnovers and 8.8 steals per game, as well as their 1.08 assist to turnover ratio are also atop the conference. FDU does however struggle defensively and on the glass, ranking in the bottom three in opponent's points per game and opponent's field goal percentage, as well as ninth in rebounding margin. Fairleigh Dickinson is led by four sophomores, Darian Anderson, Earl Potts Jr., Marques Townes and Stephan Jiggets . In fact, there is just one lone upperclassman on the team, redshirt junior Tyrone O'Garro. Anderson leads the team and is fifth in the league with averages of 14.6 points and 3.7 assists, and is also atop the conference with 1.9 steals per contest. Potts Jr. leads the team in rebounding, averaging 5.3 caroms, and is seventh in scoring at 13.8 per game. Townes and Jiggets chip in with averages of 11.5 and 11.0 points, respectively. Freshman Mike Holloway leads the NEC with a 62.2 field goal percentage.
Series History... Despite the loss on January 7 earlier this year, Fairleigh Dickinson is one of two Northeast Conference teams that Sacred Heart has a winning record against, the other being Bryant, in a series that dates back to the Pioneers' first season as a Division I school in 1999-2000. SHU now leads the all-time series 15-11, iand has won five of the last seven. The Pioneers hold the edge both at home and on the road against the Knights. Sacred Heart is 8-7 all-time at the William H. Pitt Center and 7-5 all-time in Hackensack, including winning seven of the previous seven.
Last Meeting… Cane Broome scored a game-high 24 points in Sacred Heart's Northeast Conference home opening 80-68 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson on January 7. A Marques Townes three-point play with an even 15 minutes showing on the first half clock gave FDU a lead it would not relinquish the remainder of the game. The Knights used a 20-4 first half run, capped by a Townes three-pointer to take a game-high 47-19 lead with 2:16 remaining in the first. Sacred Heart scored the final eight points of the half to cut the deficit to 47-27 at the break, but could not manage to get it closer than 15 until the final 1:53 of the game. FDU more than doubled SHU in threes made, 9-4, and made three more free throws, 19-16, despite taking six less attempts. The Pioneers shot just 30.8 percent from beyond the arch 55.2 percent from the line, compared to 42.9 and 82.6 percent for FDU. The Knights also held a 41-28 rebounding advantage. Tevin Falzon contributed 17 points, while Quincy McKnight finished with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and a game-high four steals. Two Knights finished with double doubles. Earl Potts led FDU with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Mike Holloway tallied 15 and 10, including going 7-7 from the line. Darian Anderson recorded 18 points on 7-11 from the floor and dished out a game-high seven assists, more than double any other player.
Career Numbers vs. Fairleigh Dickinson...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Tevin Falzon (6-1) 8.3 6.8 1.0 19.7
Cane Broome (3-1) 20.0 6.5 2.0 34.0
Jordan Allen (3-1) 6.7 7.0 2.0 25.3
Filip Nowicki (2-1) 2.0 4.5 - 13.0
Chris Robinson (2-0) 3.5 2.0 0.5 7.0
Quincy McKnight (1-1) 13.0 5.0 3.0 31.0
Sean Hoehn (1-1) 2.0 3.0 2.0 29.0
Cole Walton (1-1) - 1.0 - 6.0
Eyimofe Edukugho (1-0) - 1.0 - 12.0
Jermaine Ukaegbu (1-0) 4.0 2.0 - 11.0
Matej Buovac (1-0) - - - 11.0
- Falzon pulled down a career-high, and program Division I record, 19 rebounds against Fairleigh Dickinson on February 26 of last season. He has scored 17 points in each of his last two games against the Knights.
-Broome has averaged 23.5 points in his last two games against FDU
-Allen has averaged 9.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in his last two games against the Knights.
Feeling Good in February... Beginning February 4-1, a win in any of Sacred Heart's last three games would give the program its first back-to-back five-win Februarys in the Division I era.
Five Win Month... Going 5-5 in January gave Sacred Heart its third five-win month since 2011-12 season, a span of 23 regular season months. Already at 4-1 in February, SHU could make it back-to-back five win months for the first time since January and February of 2009.
Back on the Road... The final scheduled away game of the season, Sacred Heart will tie its program record with its 18th contest away from home. With four wins on the road, all in NEC play, the Pioneers will be looking for their fifth for the first time since 2011-12.
-SHU has not won back-to-back February road games since 2009.
