The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team earned an 80-72 Northeast Conference over Long Island University Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Pioneers improve to 16-9 on the year and 9-5 in NEC play, while the Sharks fall to 12-14 on the season and 7-6 in league play.

E.J. Anosike became the 44^th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and set a Division I program record, with 22 rebounds, in the win. He tallied his 15^th double-double of the year, with 26 points and the rebounds.

The Pioneers had four players score in double-figures on the afternoon. SHU also handed out 18 assists on 28 made field goals.

The Pioneers return to action on Friday, February 21, when they travel to Merrimack College. The 5:00 pm game will air on CBS Sports Network.

Turning Point

• LIU cut a 45-31 deficit 1:15 into the second-half to only five points, 51-46, with 1417 to play
• Koreem Ozier on the next possession to begin a 5:30 stretch of action that saw SHU outscore the Sharks 14-5 and push the lead back to 14 points
• The Sharks would close within seven in the final minute, but Anosike made four free throws in the final 37 seconds to secure the win

Anosike's Day

• Anosike nearly had a double-double in the first-half, with nine points and 14 rebounds
• His 22 rebounds surpassed Tevon Falzon (19, 2/16/15) for the program's Division I single-game mark and are a career-high
• Anosike scored his 1,000 career-point on a layup with 8:43 to play in the game and finished with 1,009 points
• His 26 points is a season-best for Anosike and one shy of a career-high
• Anosike is the seventh NEC player in the past 10 years to record a 20-20 game
• He finished the afternoon 8-17 from the field and 10-11 from the free throw line
• Anosike also added three assists

Pioneer Points

• Kinnon LaRose just missed out on a double-double, tallying 16 points and nine rebounds
• LaRose shot 4-6 from behind the arc
• Aaron Clarke scored 14 points and handed out a career-high seven assists
• Jare'l Spellman scored 11 and blocked three shots and is tied for second all-time with 165 career blocked shots
• Chaylyn Martin equaled a career-high with six points, and set a career-best with seven rebounds

By the Numbers

• LIU had four players in double-figures as well, with 14 apiece from Raiquan Clark and Virshon Cotton
• Tyrn Flowers and Jermain Jackson, Jr. tallied 13 each, with Flowers pulling in a team-best nine rebounds
• The Pioneers finished with a 48-27 advantage on the glass and a 15-6 edge in offensive rebounds
• SHU is now 14-0 when scoring 73 or more points in a game
• The Sharks committed just eight turnovers on Saturday, with only five assists

First-Half

• The Pioneers scored the first seven of the game, capped by a Clarke three-pointer from the corner at 17:48
• Following a Clark basket for LIU, Clarke hit from the other corner to give the Pioneers a 10-2 lead
• The lead was eight, 13-5, after a Koreem Ozier triple at 15:40, the last points for SHU for the next four minutes
• LIU scored 10 unanswered during the stretch, taking a 15-13 lead on a Jashaun Agosto jumper at 11:54
• Anosike ended the SHU drought at 11:30, retying the game, and Clarke made his third three of the game at the 10:04 mark to put the Pioneers in front, 18-15 
• Cotton hit a pair of free throws with 7:24 to play before the break, to give LIU a 23-22 advantage – its last lead of the game
• Anosike was fouled and made both free throws on the other end 16 seconds later, putting the Pioneers back in front
• Those points began a 9-0 run, capped by LaRose's first three of the game 1:58 later and the lead 31-23
• All told, the Pioneers outscored the Sharks 21-4 through an Anosike dunk with 37 seconds left in the half and the advantage 43-27
• Clark scored in the paint with five seconds remaining to bring LIU within 14 at intermission, 43-29

Second-Half

• After trading baskets in the opening possessions of the second-half, the Pioneers lead was still 14, 45-31
• Clark scored in the paint at the 18:00 mark, to start a 7-2 Sharks run, that brought the deficit into single digits, 47-38, on a Julian Batts jumper with 16:29 remaining
• Anosike hit free throws at 15:57 to momentarily push the edge back to 11
• Flowers hit in the paint at 15:45 and Jackson a transition three at 15:13 to get the Sharks within 49-43
• Anosike again snubbed the run with a fast break hoop of his own at 14:41, but Flowers answered with a three-pointer,24 ticks later to get within five, 51-46
• Ozier answered for the Pioneers this time, driving to the rim to spark four straight Pioneer points
• That spark turned into a 13-5 run, that Ozier (9:20) and Anosike (8:43) capped with the Pioneers in front by 13, 64-51
• The Sharks would mount one last run, getting within seven on a Clark basket with 1:41 to play, 71-69, but Anosike went 4-4 from the line down the stretch to seal the win