The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team won for the third straight time, defeating Northeast Conference visitor Mount St. Mary's, 58-53, Thursday afternoon at the Pitt Center. The victory improves the Pioneers to 13-9 overall and 6-3 in league play, while the Mount falls to 9-12 on the season and 5-3 in NEC action.

Koreem Ozier finished with a game-high 21 points and five assists in 28 minutes off of the bench. E.J. Anosike reached double-figures in scoring for the 20^th time, as he finished with 13 points.

SHU welcomed a dozen local elementary schools to the Pitt Center as part of Kids Day Out, with 1,505 in attendance.

The Pioneers make a trip to Brooklyn, N.Y. for a 4:00 pm contest at St. Francis Brooklyn.

Turning Point

• Chong Qui made a free throw at 9:01 and then went up and under at the 8:17 mark to get Mount within a possession, 45-42
• Chong Qui hit a jumper outside the paint with 7:27 to play, to get within three one more time, 47-44
• Ozier drove the lane for a hoop at 7:15, making the lead 49-44, 
• The Mount would never close within a single possession again as LaRose scored at the 4:12 mark and SHU held the Mountaineers scoreless for nearly 4:00 

Pioneer Points

• Ozier shot 9-16 from the field for the Pioneers, who finished 45.3 percent for the game
• Anosike netted 6-10 from the field, and all six shots he took inside the three-point line
• Kinnon LaRose led the Pioneers with eight rebounds and scored five points
• Jare'l Spellman swatted four shots, collected six boards had two points and two assists
• SHU committed only eight turnovers on the day, equaling a season-low

By the Numbers

• Mount was led by 20 points from Vado Morse, who was 7-13 from the field and 4-8 from behind the arc
• The Mount shot 34 percent from the field for the game
• Damian Chong Qui tallied 16 points and Jalen Gibbs finished with nine rebounds
• SHU recorded three steals, as Mount had just six turnovers in the game
• Both teams had seven offensive rebounds, with SHU finishing with a 37-33 edge on the glass
• The Pioneers 58 points is the fewest in a win this season

First-Half

• Mount scored first at the 18:01 mark and led 4-0 before Anosike hit from the elbow at 15:16
• That started a 7-0 run that saw LaRose hit from behind the three-point line and Anosike score in transition to give SHU a 7-4 lead at 13:29
• Ozier knocked down a three at 12:06 and then fed Anosike at 11:28 to push the run to 12-3
• A Zach Pfaffenberger free throw at 10:34 gave SHU its largest lead, 13-7, at 10:34
• Jalen Gibbs converted a traditional three-point play at 10:13 and Morse hit two from the stripe at 10:00 to give Mount a 5-0 run in a 13 second span
• Ozier hit a baseline floater that Morse answered with a three on the other end, tying the score 15-15 at the 8:26 mark
• Clarke hit a three at 7:12 to start an 11-0 Pioneer run, that was capped by a Tyler Thomas three at the 4:15 mark and with the Pioneers leading 26-15
• The run was ended by two free throws Nana Opoku at 3:52
• Jalen Gibbs gave Mount five straight points with a corner three at 3:03 to make the deficit 26-20
• Thomas hit his second triple of the half at 2:24, to push the lead back to nine, 29-20
• Clarke drove the lane and scored with 44 ticks left, sending the teams to the locker room with the Pioneers in front 31-20

Second-Half

• Morse started the second-half scoring for Mount, with a hoop at the 17:26 mark
• SHU wouldn't score until Ozier drove the lane at 16:11 for a 33-22 lead
• Omar Habwe connected on two free throws at 15:44 to snap the Mount scoreless streak 
• Morse hit his third three to close within six, 33-27 at 15:09
• Ozier hit a 10-foot jumper at 14:36 and added a free throw at 13:34 for the 36-27 lead
• Anosike took a feed from Clarke for the lay-in at 12:44 to give SHU a 38-29 advantage
• Chong Qui hit a three that drew The Mount within six, where the lead remained after Ozier and Chong Qui traded baskets at 11:53 and 11:35
• Ozier hit a sideline three and Anosike scored on a fast break at 10:46, for a quick 5-0 run that pushed the lead to 45-34
• Morse answered with a deep three of his own at 10:27 to get Mount back within eight, 45-37 and Opoku had his shot drop home at 9:42 to make the deficit 45-39 with 9:27 to play
• Chong Cui made a free throw at 9:01 and then went up and under at the 8:17 mark to get Mount within a possession, 45-42
• Pfaffenberger hit a short jumper, for a 47-42 lead that Chong Qui answered at the 7:27 mark
• Ozier again made the SHU lead five, with a driving layup at 7:15, for a 49-44 advantage
• Spellman kept a ball alive for LaRose to scoop up and lay in at the 4:12 mark, for a 51-44 lead
• Chong Qui continued to carry Mount, scoring at the 3:39 mark to get within 51-46
• Neither team scored until the 159 mark when Anosike scored in the paint, which Malik Jefferson answered 18 seconds later
• Spellman hit a hook shot in the paint that made the lead seven for 10 seconds, before Chong Qui converted both ends of a 1-and-1 to make the score 55-50 with 61 seconds left
• LaRose threw the inbound pass three-quarters of the court to a streaking Ozier, who laid it in, with :29 to play, for a 57-51 advantage