Box Score Game Highlights
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A 26-5 run over the end of the first half and beginning of the second half was enough to help the Sacred Heart men's basketball hold off St. Francis Brooklyn, 74-70, on Thursday night at the William H. Pitt Center. The Pioneers have now won four of five and sit alone in fifth place in the Northeast Conference standings at 6-5 in league play and 7-15 overall.
With SHU ahead 39-31 at the half, St. Francis (9-15, 5-3 NEC) got as close as six early in the second half with four of the first six points, but the Terriers would go scoreless for 5:47 and Sacred Heart would take advantage with it second 12-0 stretch of the evening. After Cane Broome and Tevin Falzon combined for the first nine points, Matej Buovac nailed a three-pointer for the games largest lead, 53-35, with 13:08 remaining. That three put a stamp on the 26-5 surge, which spanned 9:52 of game time and began when a Broome three-point play tied the game at 30 at the 5:30 mark of the first half.
The lead was still 17 when Broome made a layup to put Sacred Heart up 58-41 with 10:41 to go and 14 after Jordan Allen made two of two at the line for a 60-46 advantage 2:20 later but then began the St. Francis Brooklyn's push. Dagur Jonsson nailed back-to-back trifectas to cap eight in a row over 2:53 to cut the deficit to six, 60-54. SHU quickly stretched the lead back to ten though when Broome hit both free throws to reestablish a double-digit advantage, 64-54, with 3:41 left.
The two teams traded points over the next couple of minutes before St. Francis finally got as close as four, 68-64, when Tyreek Jewell made a three-pointer with 1:23 showing. Broome responded by beating the shot clock with a three of his own 29 seconds later, but the Terriers made a free throw on the next trip down the floor before forcing two consecutive Sacred Heart turnovers. They could not take advantage of those forced turnovers until Chris Hooper made a layup to make the score 71-67 at the nine-second mark.
After Falzon made 1-2 at the line, Jewell made it a one-possession game for the first time in the second half when SFBK executed a full-court play for a 72-70 score six seconds before the buzzer. Again it was Falzon fouled on the ensuing inbounds and this time the senior stepped up by making both foul shots to officially ice the contest.
Falzon finished with his second consecutive double double, and third in four games, grabbing a game-high ten rebounds to go along with 14 points. It was Broome who led the team in scoring for a 15th straight game, as he poured in 28 in addition to six rebounds and a game-high four assists. Also with four assists was Allen, who was one rebound shy of his first double double of the season with 12 points as he made a career-best 8-13 from the line. Buovac chipped in with 11 points.
Jewell led all scorers with 29 points, 22 of which came in the second half. The only other Terrier with more than seven points was Hooper, who also grabbed a team best six caroms.
Sacred Heart held its third opponent of the season to under 40 percent shooting as St. Francis was limited to just 37.3 percent from the floor. The Pioneers also dominated the glass with a 45-27 rebounding advantage, a new season-high, leading to a 15-4 edge in second change points.
SHU welcomes back the 1986 Division II National Championship Team as part of an Alumni Day doubleheader on Saturday. The 3:30 pm tip against LIU Brooklyn follows the women's game against St. Francis Brooklyn at 1 pm.
Noteworthy
- Sacred Heart is now in a three-way tie with Mount St. Mary's and St. Francis Brooklyn for the best NEC regular season record since the beginning of February 2015 at 12-6
- Winners of four of five, SHU has led at the half in all four of those wins and is now 5-1 this season when taking a lead into the locker room
Inside the Box
- Making 22-30 (73.3 percent) from the line, Sacred Heart eclipsed seventy percent for the sixth time in eight games, something the Pioneers did just twice in the first 14 games of the season
- The St. Francis bench outscored the SHU bench, 24-4
- SFBK forced 21 turnovers and committed just ten, but the Terriers were only able to turn that into a 20-17 edge in points off turnovers
- St. Francis also made ten three pointers, but in taking 32 attempts to do so for a 31.3 percentage, SHU outshot them from beyond the arch by hitting 6-19 for 31.6 percent
How it Happened
- First Half
- Six points in a row gave St. Francis Brooklyn its largest lead of the first half, as Jewell's steal and ensuing layup put the Terriers on top 15-9 6:46 into the game
- SFBK would lead until Buovac drained a three-pointer for a 25-24 Sacred Heart advantage with 8:30 to go
- Olfafsson quickly came back with a three of his own 19 seconds later and St. Francis stayed on top until Broome converted a three-point play at the 5:30 mark
- That began a 12-0 SHU run over the next 4:37, culminating with a Broome layup 53 seconds before the break, as St. Francis Brooklyn did not make a basket in the final 6:10. The sophomore scored seven of the 12 points in the stretch with Falzon adding the other five
- The Terriers did end the surge before halftime as Hooper made one of two free throws 20 seconds after Broome's layup to make the score 39-31 at the break
