FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The game saw 18 lead changes and scoring margins that never leaked into double-digits, but the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team lost a tight battle with the Northeast Conference's top-ranked Wagner, 76-67, on Thursday night. 
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 8-18, 4-7
Wagner: 18-3, 12-1
 
Top Performers:
Tyler Thomas: 19 points, 4 rebounds
Aaron Clarke: 17 points, 4 assists
Nico Galette: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Bryce Johnson: 12 points, 9 rebounds
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers take a trip to Merrimack for their final road game of the regular season on Saturday at 3 p.m. 
 
Of Note:
The Pioneers trailed by one with four minutes remaining in the first half until Bryce Johnson slammed the ball down to spark a 10-3 run. The run grew SHU's largest lead of the night of six points, but Wagner's Will Martinez hit a fade-away jumper at the buzzer to bring the score to 37-33 at the halftime break. Both teams tallied 13 field goals in the first 20 minutes, but the differentiator came from the foul line. The Pioneers shot a perfect eight-for-eight from the stripe while the Seahawks were just four-of-10. 
 
With the score tied at 54-all at the 8:57 mark in the second half, Wagner went on an 8-2 run to grab a six-point cushion. Sacred Heart would cut the lead to four but a pair of missed free throws from Tyler Thomas with three minutes to go hurt the Pioneers' momentum. The Red & White would get as close as four with under a minute to give, but the Seahawks went on to shoot five-of-six from the line to ice the game.  
 
Wagner proved why it has the number one scoring defense in the league as they forced Sacred Heart to 21 turnovers, the most against a Division I opponent this season. In the process, the Seahawks grabbed 17 points off SHU's mistakes. 
 
Four of SHU's five starters grabbed double-digits as the starting five accounted for 61 of its 67 points. Thomas led with 19 points and shot eight-of-17 from the field, followed by Aaron Clarke with 17 points and four assists. The duo netted the only five three-pointers for the Pioneers on the night as Clarke posted three (3-8) and Thomas chipped in two (2-7). Bryce Johnson was one rebound shy of his third-straight double-double as he tallied 12 points. Nico Galette contributed 13 points and seven rebounds. 
 
On the flip side, Martinez dropped a career-high 25 points off the bench for the Seahawks which was the dagger in Sacred Heart's hopes.