NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – First-year Tanner Thomas had a career game and was nine seconds away from netting the game-winning basket at Merrimack on Saturday evening. The Warriors ended the rookie's hopes of capping off the biggest game of his young career when they hit a layup with three seconds left on the clock to win the game, 80-79. 
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 8-19, 4-12
Merrimack: 13-15, 9-7
 
Top Performers:
Tanner Thomas: 26 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
Nico Galette: 18 points, 4 assists
Bryce Johnson: 7 points, 11 rebounds
 
Up Next:
Sacred Heart returns to the Pitt Center for its final pair of home games beginning with Mount St. Mary's on Thursday at 7 p.m.
 
Of Note:
Merrimack started the game hot as it grabbed 36 of its 43 first-half points from behind the arc. The Warriors went 12-for-19 from long distance and grabbed just four points from the paint. Sacred Heart remained in the game when a Joey Reilly three capped off an 8-0 run midway through the half. The Pioneers matched the Warriors with 14 field goals but were three-of-five from three-point range as they grabbed nearly half their points from the paint. 
 
Thanks to a 9-0 run to start the second half, Merrimack jumped to its largest lead of the night of 14 points, 63-49. A quick seven-point swing sparked by Thomas brought the Pioneers back within single digits. SHU continued to claw its way back into the game as it outscored Merrimack, 16-6, in the final five minutes of the game.
 
With less than ten seconds remaining, Thomas spun and floated the ball over the rim to give the Pioneers a one-point lead. The Warriors responded when Mikey Watkins weaved through SHU's press and took it coast-to-coast for the game-winning layup, 80-79. 
 
Merrimack finished the game shooting a season-best 16-of-28 from three. The team's three-point shooting hid the fact that they were just six-of-14 from the foul line. Sacred Heart went 31-for-57 from the field and was just five-of-13 from three. The Pioneers grabbed 12 points from the stripe in 14 attempts. 
 
Thomas not only posted a career-high but posted his first double-digit scoring performance of his career. The first-year entered the game with just 38 points on the year before erupting for a near-perfect game shooting 10-of-11 from the field and six-of-seven from the stripe. He finished the game with an added five rebounds and two assists. 
 
Sophomore Nico Galette was the only other double-digit scorer for the Red & White with 18 points off nine-of-15 shooting. He also dished out four assists 
 
As a team, the Pioneers outrebounded the Warriors, 35-22, led by Bryce Johnson with 11. Johnson finished the game with seven points and was just shy of a double-double.