The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team clinched a winning season, with an 83-76 win over Northeast Conference host, Bryant University Sunday afternoon in Smithfield, R.I. The Pioneers improve to 17-12 overall and 10-6 in league play, while the Bulldogs fall to 14-15 on the year and 6-10 in NEC action. 

The Pioneers had five players score in double-figures, led by the 18 points of E.J. Anosike. SHU shot 49.2 percent from the field and assisted on 18 of its 30 made field goals.

The SHU victory earns the first winning season for the program since the 2009-10 team posted a 15-14 record. The Pioneers can finish between second and fourth in the NEC tournament seedings.

The Pioneers return home on Thursday, February 27 to take on St. Francis Brooklyn. The 7:00 pm game will air on SNY and NEC Front Row.

Turning Point

• Juan Cardenas scored in the paint, with 3:22 to play, to bring the Bulldogs within five points, 74-69
• Aaron Clarke drained a three-pointer 29 seconds later and after a stop Kinnon LaRose hit a three in transition with 1:53 to play to balloon the lead back to 11 points
• Clarke wrapped up the 8-0 SHU run with a driving layup with 71 seconds left, to make the lead an insurmountable 82-69

Pioneer Points

• Anosike shot 7-9 from the field on his way to his 18 points, while collecting nine rebounds
• Aaron Clarke tallied a dozen points and handed out six assists
• Koreem Ozier finished with 14 points and four assists 
• Tyler Thomas knocked down 4-8 from behind the arc as he tallied 16 and Kinnon LaRose was good on 3-4 from downtown, and finished with 13 points
• Jare'l Spellman blocked three shots, to go with six boards and four points

By the Numbers

• SHU committed just one first-half turnover and finished with just nine in the game, the sixth single-digit turnover game of the season
• The Pioneers shot 49.2 percent on the day, with a 54.5 percent clip in the first-half
• Adam Grant scored a game-high 24 points to lead four Bryant players in double figures
• The Bulldogs finished with a 41-36 advantage in rebounds, and a 17-12 offensive rebound edge

First Half

• Anosike opened the scoring at the 18:22 mark with a jumper in the paint, that Hall Elisias answered 16 seconds later
• Anosike muscled his way along the baseline to put the Pioneers back on top, 8-7, at the 15:30 mark
• Bryant scored four unanswered to build its largest lead of the game 13-9 on a driving layup from Grant with 13:01 to play in in the half
• A Thomas three on the other end was followed at 12:02 by a pair of Clarke free throws, to give the Pioneers a 14-13 advantage, that SHU relinquished
• Those points jump started a 10-0 SHU run, that Thomas capped at 10:53 with the 19-13 advantage
• The lead fluctuated between five and 13, the Pioneers reaching that margin on a Kinnon LaRose transition three with 2:56 to play in the half, 42-29
• Bryant would score the next eight points, closing within 42-37, when Green converted a traditional three-point play with 1:35 to play
• Ozier drained a three and after a Clarke fast break basket, scored his own transition basket with 34 seconds to play, as the Pioneers closed the half on a 7-0 run, and took a 49-37 lead to the break

Second Half

• Ozier hit a pair of free throws 22 seconds into the second-half, giving SHU a 51-37 advantage, its largest lead of the game
• The Pioneers equaled that margin when LaRose scored on a break at 18:12 for a 53-39 lead
• Cardenas scored in the paint at 17:55 to open a 6-0 Bulldog run, that closed the deficit to 53-45
• LaRose laid in the ball at the 16:20 to end the run and put the Pioneers lead back into double-digits
• Cardenas drained a three for the Bulldogs at 15:38 and began a 10-3 run that Grant capped with a triple of his own (12:52) to bring Bryant within three, 58-55
• Zach Pfaffenberger ended a 3:58 SHU scoring drought with 12:28 to play and pushed the lead back to two possessions, 60-55
• A Thomas three with 10:33 to play gae SHU a 64-56 advantage, the only field goal for either team in a 5:00 stretch, that saw Bryant hit 5-6 from the line to close within four, 64-60 with 8:42 remaining
• Bryant was able to close within three twice, 66-63 with 7:17 top lay and 68-65 with 6:33 to play, but each time the Pioneers responded
• Spellman sank a hook shot with 6:10 to play to fend off the last Bryant run and LaRose hit from the wing with 4:25 to play, giving the Pioneers a 73-65 advantage
• Bryant made one last push, closing within five points on Cardenas' layup with 3:22 to play
• Anosike assisted on back-to-back possessions, feeding Clarke (2:53) and LaRose (1:53) for three-pointers to push the lead back to double digits, 80-69
• Clarke capped the 8-0 run with 1:11 to play, on a driving layup