GAME ON AS STORM CLEARS OUT: SHU Hosts St. Francis Brooklyn For Pack The Pitt Thursday Night
2/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes | NEC Front Row | Live Stats
St. Francis Brooklyn (8-16, 5-6 NEC) at Sacred Heart (10-15, 5-7 NEC)
Thursday, Feb. 9 - 9:00 PM
Coach Bike Court at the Pitt Center - Fairfield, Conn.
Setting the Scene... Riding a two-game winning streak, SHU hosts St. Francis Brooklyn as the Pioneers Pack The Pitt Thursday night. The game will be telecast on MSG+ and Fox College Sports.
Last Time Out... Sacred Heart earned a season sweep of the Bryant Bulldogs last Saturday with a 73-70 overtime win at the Pitt Center. Quincy McKnight led SHU with 25 points and seven rebounds. Joseph Lopez had 19 points and five rebounds, and made a key layup to put the Pioneers ahead by three with 1:10 to go. Sacred Heart dominated the glass, outrebounding Bryant 46-32.
All-Time vs. St. Francis Brooklyn... The Terriers lead the all-time series 20-11 over the Pioneers. Sacred Heart has won the last two meetings against St. Francis Brooklyn. The two teams have split the 14 meetings at the Pitt Center.
Last Meeting... Led by 26 points from Quincy McKnight, Sacred Heart earned an 87-75 win at St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 12. SHU led 41-27 at halftime and shot 51.5% from the field in the second half to put away the Terriers. Joseph Lopez had a double-double with 21 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Matej Buovac had 16 points off the bench. Rasheem Dunn led St. Francis Brooklyn with 18 points and nine rebounds.
February Frenzy... Sacred Heart has hit its stride in February over the last two seasons. The Pioneers have proven that to be true so far in 2017, going 2-0 with wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Bryant. In 2014-15, the Pioneers went 5-2 in February to finish tied for fifth in the NEC. Last season, SHU was 6-2 in February to tie for second place in the NEC.
McKnight's Making Shots... Sophomore guard Quincy McKnight had quite the week in leading SHU to wins over FDU and Bryant. McKnight had his second double-double of the season last Thursday at FDU with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while also dishing out six assists. On Saturday, the sophomore scored a game-high 25 points with seven rebounds in the overtime win over Bryant. He also made two three-pointers in overtime to put the Pioneers up by six, 69-63, with 2:38 to play.
Joe On The Spot... Joseph Lopez came alive for 19 points in Saturday's overtime win over Bryant, making a key basket with 1:10 to play to put SHU up by three. In NEC play, Lopez is averaging 13.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He has had five double-doubles in conference play, including a 21-point, 16-rebound performance at St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 12. Lopez has also blocked a shot in 15 of the last 16 games.
Scouting the Terriers... After starting NEC play 2-0, St. Francis Brooklyn is now 2-10 in conference after losses to Saint Francis U and Robert Morris at home last week. Rasheem Dunn has a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 78-54 loss to Robert Morris, with Glenn Sanabria adding 12 points. Dunn leads the Terriers in scoring at 13.4 points per game, adding 4.8 rebounds per game. Sanabria is averaging 12.6 points per game with Yunus Hopkinson adding 11.3 points per game.
