SHU Can Clinch Quarterfinal Home Game on Senior Day Saturday
2/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Despite a loss on Thursday, the Sacred Heart men's basketball team still has an opportunity to clinch its first NEC quarterfinal home game since 2009, and potentially a two seed, when Saint Francis U visits the William. H Pitt Center for Senior Day on Saturday at 3:30 pm.
Playoff Scenarios...-With a win and a Fairleigh Dickinson loss at Central Connecticut, Sacred Heart would secure the two seed, tied for its best seed in program history and something it has not done since 2008. The Pioneers would secure homecourt advantage through the semifinals of the tournament, and would play either Saint Francis U or Robert Morris in the quarterfinals.
-A win and Fairleigh Dickinson win means that SHU would be seeded third, and host either Mount St. Mary's, LIU Brooklyn, Saint Francis U or St. Francis Brooklyn.
-Should the Pioneers lose, the highest seed it could get would be six, and depending on results, could be as low as seven. That would result in potential trips to either Fairleigh Dickinson, Mount St. Mary's, or St. Francis Brooklyn.
-The only team Sacred Heart cannot face is regular season champion Wagner, who has clinched the one seed.
Senior Day...Prior to the start of the game, Sacred Heart will honor the three members of the SHU basketball senior class of 2016: Eyimofe Edukugho, Jordan Allen and Tevin Falzon.
-Edukugho has set new career-highs in every statistical category this season, which include averages of 5.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 12.7 minutes in 25 appearances. Coming into the year with one career double-digit scoring effort, he already has six this season.
-In leading the NEC last year, Allen's 62.3 field goal percentage was the fourth highest for a single season in school history. Currently leading the team yet again, and ranking fifth in the league shooting 53.7 percent this year, his career field goal percentage of 57.6 is fourth best in school history.
-Falzon is currently leading the NEC with 3.7 offensive rebounds per game. He is also top five in both rebounds and blocks per contest, averaging 8.2 and 1.4, respectively. With 94 blocks over the last four years, he is currently seventh in school history in the category, three shy of tying the Division I leader.
Series History... Defeating Sacred Heart 84-80 on January 4, Saint Francis U is in the midst of its longest ever win streak against the Pioneers with five straight victories, now leading the all-time series 14-12. The win gave SFU a slight 8-7 edge in Lorretto, while the Red Flash also hold a small advantage in the Pitt Center, 6-5, including winning three of the past four. The longest winning streak in the series is by SHU, who won seven straight from 2006-09.
Last Meeting… A Sacred Heart comeback was cut just short in the final seconds of January fourth's game at Saint Francis U's DeGol Arena. Shooting 61.3% from the floor in the second half, the Pioneers team cut a 14-point Red Flash lead to just two points in the final minute, but could not make the final push and fell 84-80. Cane Broome led all players with 29 points and Jordan Allen missed a double-double by just one rebound with 11. After Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Broome put SHU back on top 38-35 with back-to-back baskets to open the second half, Ben Millaud-Meunier, who led the Red Flash with 24, shooting .600 (6-10) from the floor and .625 (5-8) from beyond the arch, launched a triple that ignited an 11-point run for the Red Flash. It was the first of three consecutive treys for Meunier, giving SFU a 46-38 lead the Pioneers never came back from.
Career Numbers vs. Saint Francis U...
NAME (GP-GS) PPG RPG APG MPG
Tevin Falzon (6-2) 4.5 5.2 0.3 15.5
Cane Broome (3-3) 18.0 5.0 1.7 37.0
Jordan Allen (3-1) 11.0 6.7 1.0 25.7
Chris Robinson (2-0) 3.0 2.5 0.5 8.5
Filip Nowicki (2-0) 2.0 0.5 - 7.5
Quincy McKnight (1-1) 16.0 1.0 1.0 26.0
Sean Hoehn (1-1) 2.0 3.0 2.0 39.0
Cole Walton (1-1) - - - 15.0
Eyimofe Edukugho (1-0) 7.0 3.0 - 12.0
Matej Buovac (1-0) - - - -
Jermaine Ukaegbu (1-0) 2.0 2.0 - 4.0
-With 13 points on January 4, Falzon nearly matched his total of 14 points from his first five career games against Saint Francis U
-Broome's 29 points surpassed his total of 25 from his first two games against the Red Flash
-With 11 points, Allen was one rebound shy of what would have been his first double double of the season
-McKnight was a perfect 3-3 from three-point range in the first meeting this year, a career-best
-Hoehn's 39 minutes on January 4 are a career-high
Scouting Saint Francis U... Saint Francis U comes into Saturday on a season-long four-game losing streak, falling into a tie for sixth at 9-8 after most recently losing to regular season champion Wagner, 69-54, on Thursday night. The four-game losing streak comes just after the Red Flash had won four in a row to move atop the NEC Standings at 9-4. SFU can clinch the fifth seed with a win on Saturday, and will be either the six or seven seed with a loss. Saint Francis U is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, ranking second in both three pointers per game, 7.2, and three-point percentage, 36.2. The Red Flash also crash the boards, as they are third in the conference with a + 0.8 rebounding margin, spearheaded by the conference's leading rebounder Ronnie Drinnon, who averages 10.3 per contest. He also leads the team scoring 12.9 points per game, just ahead of fellow seniors Ben Millaud-Meunier and Greg Brown, who chip in with averages of 12.8 and 12.4, respectively. Millaud-Meunier leads that three-point attack, as he is atop the league with 2.6 makes per contest and is second with a .404 percentage. He also leads the conference with a .908 free throw percentage. Brown leads SFU averaged 3.2 assists, good for seventh in the league.
NEC Quarterfinal Home Game... Now in its 17th season in the conference, Sacred Heart has hosted a quarterfinal in NEC Tournament three times, three straight years from 2007-09. The Pioneers have hosted a semifinal twice (2007) and Championship once (2008).
Over the Last 13... Despite Thursday's loss, since its 1-3 start, Sacred Heart's 9-4 record in the last 13 games is tied for the best in the league with regular season champion Wagner.
Without a Sweep...Since joining the NEC in 1999-2000, Sacred Heart has never gone a full league season without getting swept by at least one opponent. A win on Saturday over the Red Flash would ensure that happening for the first time.
Back-to-Back Winning Season at Home... Despite Thursday's loss, currently at 5-4 in its 2015-16 home schedule, Sacred Heart can finish with back-to-back winning seasons in the William H. Pitt Center for the first time since 2008-09 and 2009-10 with a victory on Saturday.
