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The Sacred Heart University kicks off the first of a seven-game road stretch when they visit Island Federal Arena at Stony Brook on Monday, November 22 at 6:31 p.m. on ESPN3. 
 
OPENING TIP

• Sacred Heart looks to bring its record back to .500 after falling to crosstown rival Fairfield, 71-61. 
• The obscure start time of 6:31 p.m. is not a typo as it represents Stony Brook's 631 area code. With the exception of two, all Stony Brook's home games will have a 6:31 start time this year. 
• Monday marks the 16th time in history that the two teams have met. The last time the Pioneers went head-to-head with the Seawolves was in 2012 when they fell, 64-59, in Fairfield. 
• SHU holds the all all-time series record, 10-5.
• After not appearing for three-straight games, senior Aaron Clarke erupted for a season-high 21 points against Fairfield on Saturday night.  
• Monday's game marks the first of a seven-game road stretch for the Pioneers. SHU will not play another home game until December 22 when they host Hartford. 

 
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A CLARKE MAKES
Win or lose Tyler Thomas has been able to get his points, but the biggest factors to Sacred Heart's success has been the play of senior guard Aaron Clarke. In games that Sacred Heart won in 2020-21, Clarke averaged 17.6 ppg., while in losses the Parsippany, NJ, native was only scoring 10.1 ppg. Not to mention Clarke's buzzer-beating three after to send SHU into overtime at La Salle. In his first game back from his three-game hiatus, Clarke erupted for a team-high 21 points against Fairfield.
 
CRASHING THE BOARDS
Sacred Heart is among the top rebounding teams in the country at 13 with 209, and 60th with 41.8 per game. Rebounding has showed a direct impact on the team's outcome as they are 2-0 when outrebounding their opponent, and 0-3 on the latter. The Pioneers show a +6.6 rebound margin which is second in the NEC. SHU's top rebounder, Nico Galette ranks 27th in the country in total rebounds (42).