LOWELL, Mass. – The Sacred Heart men's basketball team shot 62% in the second half to get past the UMass Lowell River Hawks 87-80 at Costello Athletic Center.

Records

Sacred Heart – 3-4

UMass Lowell – 5-2

The Turning Point

SHU trailed 39-35 at halftime. The Pioneers opened the second half on a 15-2 run to take a 50-41 lead with 14:04 to play. Three-pointers by Sean Hoehn and Kinnon LaRose bookended the run. UMass Lowell got back within three, 60-57, with 6:50 to play but three straight layups by Mario Matasovic got the Pioneers back up by nine 66-57. SHU took its largest lead of the game with 2:50 to go as a Zach Radz three gave the Pioneers a 73-60 lead.  

First Half

- After SHU took a 2-0 lead, UMass Lowell went on a 16-3 run highlighted by back-to-back threes from Matt Harris to go up 16-5 at the 15:51 mark.

- A 16-4 SHU run over 5:13 put SHU ahead 26-24 with 7:31 to play in the half. The Pioneers forced five River Hawk turnovers in that stretch while going 6-for-9 from the field.

- De'von Barnett scored seven points in nine minutes off the bench in his first action of the season.

- Five different Pioneers had an assist in the first half.

Second Half

- SHU opened the second half on a 15-2 run, taking a 50-41 lead on a Kinnon LaRose three-pointer with 14:02 to go. The Pioneers were 6-for-10 from the field to start the half, holding UMass Lowell to 1-for-7 and three turnovers.

- Matasovic ensured his seventh consecutive game scoring in double-figures when he scored six straight points, giving him 11 at the 5:31 mark and forcing UMass Lowell to call a timeout with SHU leading 66-57. He

- Lowell went on 11-2 run over 1:16 to make it 77-73 with 57.3 left

- SHU was 10-for-12 at the free throw line in the final four minutes.

Key Stats and Notes

- Lopez had his third double-double of the season, leading SHU with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

- Hoehn and Matasovic each had 18 points and five rebounds. Hoehn added a career-high seven steals.

- Radz added 13 points off the bench, making eight of nine free throws.

- SHU shot 56.1% from the field for the game.

- The Pioneers held UMass Lowell to 1-for-11 from the three-point arc in the second half and 38.9% from the field.

Next Game

Sacred Heart wraps up its three-game road swing on Saturday, Dec. 2 when it travels to St. John's for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff. The game will be televised on Fox Sports 1.