HACKENSACK, N.J. – Cane Broome's career-high 39 points powered Sacred Heart to a  91-87 triumph over Fairleigh Dickinson in a battle of second place teams on Saturday night at Stratis Arena. SHU now stands at 10-6 in the Northeast Conference standings, one game behind first-place Wagner with two games remaining.

Trailing by ten midway through the second half and 81-74 with 4:29 remaining, Broome triggered the game-winning run with a three-pointer. That was the first of nine straight points over the next 1:29, with Quincy McKnight's jumper giving Sacred Heart its first lead since the 15:38 mark of the first half.

Mike Holloway tied it back up for Fairleigh Dickinson on the ensuing trip down the court, but Tevin Falzon had the answer with a layup towards the end of the shot clock with 1:57 left, giving SHU the lead for good. Jordan Allen then forced an FDU turnover, diving on the floor and calling a timeout to give Broome the opportunity to push the lead to four with a jumper 51 seconds later.

Following a Fairleigh Dickinson miss, Broome hit two free throws to put SHU up 89-83 with 45 seconds remaining. Darian Anderson took just seven seconds to make it a one-possession game, and after two missed free throws, the Knights had one final chance to tie it. Ghassan Nehme launched a deep three with under ten seconds on the clock that went in and out, and Broome controlled the rebound and iced the game by hitting two free throws.

Broome became the first player in the NCAA since at least 2010 to record 39 points, six rebounds and six assists with zero turnovers in a game. His 39 points were the most by a player in the NEC since February of 2013. He scored 22 in the second half and hit a career-best 15-22 from the line, while the six assists were also a new career-high.

Tevin Falzon was one rebound shy of yet another double double as the next leading scorer with 16 points, also adding a season-best four blocks. Quincy McKnight was two rebounds shy of his third consecutive double double, stuffing the stat sheet with 12 points and a career-high six steals, becoming the first Pioneer since Jarrid Frye on March 1, 2007 with six in a game. Allen added 12 points.

Stephan Jiggetts led five Fairleigh Dickinson players in double figures with 26 points, making 10-13 from the line. Darian Anderson chipped in with 18, while Earl Potts Jr. led the team with seven rebounds in addition to his 14 points. 

Fairleigh Dickinson outshot Sacred Heart from the floor, there-point range and the line, but SHU turned Fairleigh Dickinson over twenty times and committed just nine turnovers, its second lowest total of the season, en route to a 27-14 advantage in points off turnovers.

Noteworthy

• Now 6-1 in the last seven games, Sacred Heart had not accomplished that since January of 2011.
• Already with its fifth win of the month in just the sixth game, SHU has five wins in back-to-back months for the first time since January and February of 2009.
• Also winning at Bryant on Thursday, this is the first time Sacred Heart has won back-to-back road games in February since 2009.
• The ten conference wins are most since going 12-6 in 2009.

Inside the Box

• Sacred Heart has its lowest three turnover totals in the last four games
• The Pioneer blocked a season-high six shots

How it Happened

• First Half-
  • Both teams went on early seven point runs before the game stayed within three points for nearly the final 15 minutes of the half
  • It was Fairleigh Dickinson first, scoring seven consecutive after Sacred Heart had the first basket. Potts Jr. then capped a 12-2 run with a three-pointer for a 12-4 lead 3:47 into the game
  • SHU came right back with a 9-2 stretch of their own, ending with seven unanswered to get within one on Broome's trifecta with an even 15:00 on the clock
  • Neither team gained larger than a three-point lead until a McKnight layup made the score 47-43 at the 2:37 mark
  • Fifty seconds later Broome made 2-2 from the line for Sacred Heart's largest lead, 43-37, capping six straight points
  • Fairleigh Dickinson stormed back with seven in a row to momentarily take back the lead before Broome made a driving layup to beat the buzzer for a 45-44 halftime lead
  • Second Half-
    • Fairleigh Dickinson took its first lead of the second half, 52-51, when Jiggets hits two free throws 3:53 out of the locker room
    • That was part of a 10-3 stretch, ending when Anderson hit a triple for a 59-54 advantage with 14:56 remaining
    • Sacred Heart came back to take a lead, 64-63, on Matej Buovac's trifecta 2:25 later
    • That sparked the biggest run of the game, as FDU scored 11 in a row over 3:14 to take a game-high 74-64 lead
    • SHU came back with six consecutive of its own, but the Knights quickly reestablished a nine-point lead when Jiggets drilled a three at the 6:40 mark