EMMITSBURG, Md. – A pair of 14-point runs by host Mount St. Mary's was too much for the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team to overcome on Sunday. Looking for their first sweep of a Northeast Conference series this year, the Pioneers couldn't complete the comeback, losing 76-64 to the Mountaineers.

Records:
Mount St. Mary's 6-7, 5-4 NEC
Sacred Heart: 6-6, 6-5 NEC

Top Performers:
Tyler Thomas (SHU): 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
Bryce Johnson (SHU): 13 points, 7 rebounds

Up Next:
Sacred Heart goes on the road Thursday to take on Central Connecticut State at 7 p.m.

Of Note:
Unwavered by the 16-point halftime deficit, Sacred Heart worked its way back into the game. Back-to-back deep three pointers from Tyler Thomas and Aaron Clarke sliced the margin to 53-57 with 10:29 remaining. 

Bryce Johnson converted a three-point play with 7:49 to make it a one-point game, 60-59. However, SHU would only score two points over the next five minutes as Mount built a 74-64 lead it would not relinquish.

Eight minutes into the first half, Nico Galette knocked down a jumper to pull the Pioneers within a point, 16-15. Unfortunately, it would be almost six minutes before SHU would get another basket as the Mountaineers built a 30-15 lead. Mount took a 45-29 lead into the half.

While SHU had a good opening 20 minutes in its own end, the Pioneers could not slow down the Mountaineers. The hosts shot 58.1 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent (6-9) from behind the arc. Mount also had a 19-11 rebounding advantage.

Thomas led all players with 23 points as he accounted for 35 percent of SHU's scoring. He also grabbed six rebounds and had four assists. Johnson set his career-high for the second game in a row with 13 points to go along with a team-best seven rebounds.

Sacred Heart slowed Mount down a little in the second half, but the hosts still shot 48.2 percent and went 10-of-17 from three-point range. The Mountaineers had a 37-25 rebounding advantage including 15 offensive boards which led to 16 second-chance points.