STATEN ISLAND, NY – A lack of offense over the last eight minutes of the first half spelled doom for the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team on Monday. The Pioneers dropped a 74-46 Northeast Conference decision at Wagner College.

Records:
Wagner: 1-3, 1-2 NEC
Sacred Heart: 1-3, 1-2 NEC

Top Performers:
Bryce Johnson (SHU): 10 points, 8 rebounds
Alex Watson (SHU): 10 points
Aaron Clarke (SHU): 11 points

Up Next:
The Pioneers and Seahawks play again Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Of Note:
Offensively the Pioneers struggled during the opening 10 minutes, committing five turnovers and only making three field goals. Alex Morales hit a three-pointer and free throw to put the Seahawks up 15-16.

Aaron Clarke's jumper pulled SHU within 17-16 with 7:44 left in the half, but the Pioneers would go cold the rest of the half. Two free throws from Mike Sixsmith at the 2:15 mark would be SHU's only points the rest of the opening 20 minutes as Wagner went on a 19-2 run to take 37-16 margin into the locker room.

A steal and layup by Sixsmith got the deficit under 20 (56-38) midway through the second half but that's as close as Sacred Heart would get the rest of the night. 

One of the best three-point shooting teams in the conference, Sacred Heart was 0-for-11 behind the arc in the first half and 2-3 for the night. Conversely, the Seahawks knocked down 11 three-balls. Overall the Pioneers shot 29.6 percent compared to 48.3 by the hosts. 

Rookie Bryce Johnson led the Pioneers with 10 points and just missed a double-double with eight rebounds. For the first time in his career, Alex Watson posted double-digit points in back-to-back with 10 markers.