FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team is 1-0 in Northeast Conference play for the first time since the 2018-19 season after a 69-65 feat over Long Island on Wednesday night. A strong second half led to the conference-opening victory as three Pioneers posted double-figures, including Nico Galette who poured in 14 during the final 20 minutes. 
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 5-9, 1-0
Long Island: 3-8 (0-1)
 
Top Performers:
Aaron Clarke: 17 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
Nico Galette: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Tyler Thomas: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers travel to Bryant for an NEC Semifinal rematch on Friday at 1 p.m.
 
Of Note:
Sacred Heart got off to a slow start and allowed LIU's leading scorer, Tyrn Flowers, to heat up as he scored 18 of the Sharks' 37 first-half points. Flowers shot four-of-five from behind the arc to aid in the team's 46.7 three-point percentage (7-15) during the first 20 minutes. Despite the hot three-point shooting from LIU, the first half saw four lead changes, but the Sharks pulled out a narrow 37-34 cushion going into halftime. 
 
The Pioneers defense picked up in the second frame as they held LIU to just 28 second-half points. The Sharks went ice cold after the halftime break shooting just 2-of-15 from behind the arc, both of which came in the final 30 seconds. Defense turned into offense when a steal from Galette turned into a fast break layup from Tyler Thomas to cap off a 12-2 run. The run helped Sacred Heart grow to its largest lead of the night, 61-52, with under four minutes remaining. The Pioneers were able to hold onto their lead until the final buzzer, 69-65.
 
SHU finished the game shooting 36.9% (24-65) from the field and 33.3% from long distance (9-27). The Pioneers also grabbed 12 points from the line off 17 attempts, led by Aaron Clarke with a perfect seven-for-seven clip. 
 
Both Cantavio Dutreil and Galette were just shy of a double-double. Dutreil led with a season-high 14 rebounds and eight points while also adding three blocks. Galette posted 14 points and six rebounds in the second half alone as he finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds. The duo each grabbed four offensive rebounds which aided in SHU netting 10 second-chance points. 
 
Thomas and Clarke also posted double-figure scoring as Clarke led with 17 points and six assists. Thomas trailed closely behind with 15 points and filled the rest of the stat sheet with three rebounds, three assists and three steals. 

The last time the Pioneers were 1-0 in conference play was on January 3, 2019 when they topped LIU with the same scoring margin, 79-75. 
 
SHU is now 10-15 all-time against LIU and will meet later in the season in Brooklyn on February 3.