The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team won its third consecutive Northeast Conference game, fending off Central Connecticut State Wednesday night, 66-55, at the Pitt Center. The Pioneers improve to 10-7 on the year and 3-1 in league play, while the Blue Devils fall to 1-17 and 0-5 in league play.

After leading by as many as 12 in the second-half, the Pioneers saw their lead shrink to four points, 57-53, with 2:42 to play in regulation. SHU would answer, outscoring the Blue Devils 9-2 down the stretch, to earn the win. 

The Pioneers return to action on Saturday, February 18, when they travel to Loretto, Pa. for a 7:00 pm game at Saint Francis U.

Turning Point

• Stephen Ayangma dunked the ball at 13:57 to bring the Blue Devils within a pair, 11-9
• From that point, SHU outscored the Blue Devils 7-3 over the next four minutes and 20-7 over 11:44, to build a 31-26 advantage
• CCSU would never climb to within a single-possession the rest of the way, but were within four, 57-53with 2:42 to play
• E.J. Anosike scored six points in the final 1:50 as the Pioneers finished the game on a 9-2 run

Pioneer Points

• Anosike recorded his third consecutive double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds
• Kinnon LaRose notched his first double-double of the year, hitting 3-5 from behind the arc to score 15 points and collected 11 boards
• Cameron Parker again flirted with a triple-double, tallying 10 points, handing out nine assists and collecting eight rebounds
• Koreem Ozier finished with nine points
• Jare'l Spellman finished with eight boards and three blocked shots

By The Numbers

• The Pioneers earned their first win this season when scoring under 73 points
• SHU eclipsed 50 rebounds for the third time this season, finishing with 51
• Ian Krishnan was the only Blue Devil in double figures, scoring 10 points
• Parker and Spellman both tallied two steals
• CCSU shot 38.2 percent from the field for the game

First-Half

• Anosike started the scoring, with a reverse lay-up at 19:21, on the feed form Larose
• CCSU scored five of the next seven points, to take a 5-4 advantage when Greg Outlaw scored at the 16:50 mark
• Parker answered with a short jumper on the next possession and LaRose followed with a three at 16:12 to give SHU a 9-5 lead
• Ozier drive the paint for a layup at 15:08, for an 11-7 advantage
• Anosike ended a 3:12 Pioneer scoring drought with a traditional three-point play at the 11:56 mark, to push the lead to 14-9
• That basket began a 7-3 SHU run that culminated with a Zach Pfaffenberger spinning jumper midway through the half, and giving SHU an 18-12 advantage
• Parker drove the paint for a 20-14 lead and then fed the ball the length of the court to LaRose for a three, and a 23-14 edge, with 6:44 to play in the half
• A pair of Anosike free throws, 45 seconds apart, made the lead 25-14 with 4:48 to play before the break
• Jamir Reed snapped a 4:53 CCSU scoring streak with a jumper at 3:48
• The Pioneers scored six straight after that, with LaRose, Ozier and Anosike pushing the lead to 31-16
• CCSU finished the half with a 6-2 run, with points from three different players

Second-Half

• Spellman started the Pioneer scoring with a jumper at 19:10, after two CCSU free throws 24 seconds into the half, cut the SHU lead to 33-24 
• Ozier made a free throw at 17:18 and drove the lane at 18:25 to give the Pioneers a 38-26 lead
• The Blue Devils scored the next four, with free throws by Karrington Wallace and a hoop from Xavier Wilson at 14:59
• Ozier hit a pair of free throws at 13:48 to end the run, and Anosike collected a rebound and scored to push the lead back to 12, 42-30
• A three from Ian Krishnan at 12:41 started a 7-2 Blue Devil run, that Krishnan capped with a layup at 11:47, and CCSU within seven, 44-37
• Parker hit in the paint at 11:31 and Clarke hit one from the line to get back to a double-digit lead, 47-37 at 10:46
• A Clarke three 39 seconds later made the Pioneers lead 11, 50-38
•  CCSU scored the next five points, with a three from Zach Newkirk and a jumper from Jamir Coleman, to close within six, 50-44, at the 9:08 mark
• Anosike had a put back at 8:17 to stop the mini run and a Tyler Thomas free throw at 7:55 gave SHU the nine-point edge, 53-44
• An Outlaw basket at 5:47 was answered by four-straight from Parker, the second basket off a steal, to give SHU a 57-46 advantage with 4:54 to play
• The Blue Devils climbed within four, 57-53 on a runner by Reed at the 2:36 mark
• CCSU had the ball, still down four, when Spellman swatted his third shot of the night, and on the other end Anosike scored to give SHU a 59-53 lead with 1:50 to play
• LaRose drained a three from the corner with 65 ticks left in the game, for a 62-53 lead, and after a Jamir Coleman hoop, Anosike knocked down four free throws to seal the win