Box Score
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – Redshirt-Senior De'von Barnett scored his 1,000th career point Saturday afternoon as the Sacred Heart men's basketball team earned a crucial 67-50 win over the Central Connecticut Blue Devils at Detrick Gymnasium.
Records
Sacred Heart – 9-18, 4-10 NEC
Central Connecticut – 12-15, 5-9 NEC
The Turning Point
SHU led 29-24 at halftime, and opened the second half on an 8-0 run to go up by 13, 37-24, and prompt a Blue Devils timeout. CCSU cut the deficit to eight, 40-32, with 13:59 to go before the Pioneers pulled away. Led by six points from Barnett and five from Kinnon LaRose, SHU went on a 13-1 run over 4:24 to take a 53-33 lead with 9:35 remaining. The Pioneers would lead by as much 24 in the second half.
First Half
- Back-to-back threes by LaRose gave SHU a 9-7 lead with 13:10 to go. He made his first three three-point attempts of the game.
- Sparked by six points from De'von Barnett, SHU went on an 11-0 run over 3:25 to take a 20-10 lead with 8:21 remaining. Sean Hoehn capped the run with a three-pointer.
- CCSU cut the deficit to five by halftime, closing the half with a 7-2 run to make the score 29-24.
- LaRose led all scorers in the half with 11 points, adding six rebounds.
- Five of the Pioneers' 11 field goals in the first half were three-pointers.
Second Half
- Threes by Hoehn and Mario Matasovic highlighted SHU's 8-0 run to open the second half. The Pioneers led by 13, 37-24, with 17:27 to go.
- SHU took a 20-point lead with 9:35 to play when a LaRose three-pointer capped a 13-1 Pioneers run that put them up 55-35. The Pioneers were 5-for-6 from the field for that stretch of 4:24, holding the Blue Devils to 0-for-5 from the floor with three turnovers.
- Hoehn's layup at the 4:28 mark gave SHU its largest lead of the game, 24 points, when that basket made the score 62-38.
- Barnett reached 1,000 points exactly with his jumper at the 2:34 mark.
- SHU shot 59% from the field in the second half, holding CCSU to 33.3%.
Key Stats and Notes
- SHU has now won six straight games against CCSU. The Pioneers are now one game back of the Blue Devils for eighth place in the NEC, and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
- Hoehn led all scorers with a career-high 22 points. It was his first career game with over 20 points.
- LaRose and Barnett each finished with 16 points. LaRose made four threes and added six rebounds, while Barnett had five boards and finished 8-for-14 from the field.
- The Pioneers shot 43.6% from the field, holding CCSU to 34%. SHU also allowed a season-low 50 points.
Next Game
SHU hosts first-place Wagner on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m.
