FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team's late second-half push wasn't enough to get out of its 13-point halftime deficit on Tuesday night. The Pioneers fell, 70-63, in Northeast Conference action. 
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 8-17, 4-8
Merrimack: 11-15, 6-7
 
Top Performers:
Bryce Johnson: 11 points, 10 rebounds
Aaron Clarke: 16 points
Nico Galette: 16 points
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers host Wagner on ESPN3 on Thursday at 7 p.m.
 
Of Note:
The first half saw seven lead changes until the Warriors came out of the final media timeout on a 15-3 run to end the half. Merrimack shot over 50% from the field in the first 20 minutes (16-31) and held the Pioneers to just nine-of-28 from the field. 
 
With less than five minutes remaining, Nico Galette found gaps in Merrimack's zone defense and hit an elbow-jumper to spark a 6-1 run to pull SHU within single digits, 57-51. The Pioneers tried to rally around their late push and even brought the score as close as five on four occasions in the final two minutes. The late game push was a little too late as the Warriors went on to shoot six-of-eight from the foul line to ice the game. 
 
The Pioneers finished the game shooting just 15% from behind the arc (3-20) and 22-of-56 from the field. On the flip side, Merrimack netted 26-of-51 (51%) from the field which is the second-most field goals the team has made against an NEC team this season. 
 
Three Pioneers tallied double digits including Bryce Johnson who posted his second-straight double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson now has four on the year. Both Aaron Clarke and Galette finished with 16 apiece, while Tyler Thomas, Cantavio Dutreil, Joey Reilly and Matas Spokas all pitched in five.