FAIRFIELD, Conn.—The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team will open the 2023-24 season at home for the first time since 2015 as they host Sarah Lawrence on Monday evening in the William H. Pitt Center at 7:00 PM.
 
Live Stats | NEC Front Row 
 
Tip Off:

• This is the first meeting between Sarah Lawrence and Sacred Heart.
• Sacred Heart opens the year at home for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
• The Pioneers were selected first in the Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Senior Nico Galette and graduate Joey Reilly were selected to the All-NEC preseason team. Both Galette and Reilly earned All-NEC first and third-team honors last season, respectively.
• Head Coach Anthony Latina brought in a trio of transfers highlighted by the Division III Player of the Year Alex Sobel, who spent his undergrad at Middlebury. Also joining the squad is Kyle McGee and Anquan Hill.
• SHU returns a core group of players from the squad last season, Mike Sixsmith, Raheem Solomon, and Tanner Thomas.
• The Pioneers will hit the road for four straight games following the home opener.
• Latina enters his 11th season at the helm. Kyle Steinway was promoted to Associate Head Coach, and Tom Barrett and Anthony Richards joined the staff as assistant coaches.

Notes: 
PRESEASON
The Pioneers were selected first in the 2023-24 NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Joey Reilly and Nico Galette were named to the All-NEC preseason team.
 
OKAY NICO
Nico Galette had an outstanding season, last year, earning All-NEC, All-Region, and All-Met honors. Galette led SHU in scoring and was fifth in the conference, averaging 15.4 points per game. He was second on the team and seventh in the NEC in rebounding at 6.7 per game. The Rahway, N.J., native also led the Pios in blocked shots (32) and steals (53). He scored in double figures in 30 games and recorded four double-doubles to cap his junior season.
 
JOEY REILLY, FOR THREEEEEEEE
Joey Reilly had a breakout season in his second year with the Pioneers. Reilly initially started the season coming off a bench, he proved his spot in the lineup after two, double-figure performances in the first three games. The rest is history. Reilly finished the season with an All-NEC third-team nod after finishing the year as the second-leading scorer with the Pios. He scored in double figures in 22 games during the 22-23 campaign, hit a 40.3 percent clip from three-point range, was sixth in the conference in FG % with (.465), third in 3-pt FG % (.403), and sixth in 3-pt FG made with 60. The Cromwell, Conn. native had a career-high night against FDU on 1/20, scoring 29 points in the win. 
 
VETERAN PRESENCE
Sacred Heart returns a core group from last year, including, Raheem Solomon, the third-leading scorer for SHU, averaging 10.5 ppg. Mike Sixsmith, averaged 7.6 ppg and was a threat from three-point range. Tanner Thomas looks ahead to his junior year season after finding his groove late last year, specifically on the defensive end, ending the year third on the team in rebounds. Raymond Espinal-Guzman, Najee Coursey, and Tommaso Ferraresi provide additional depth as they add to the veteran presence of the Pioneers' loaded squad.
 
TRANSFER, TRANSFER, TRANSFER 
Coach Latina brought in three transfer students in the offseason that will play a big role in the Pioneers' success. Anquan Hill, Kyle McGee, and Alex Sobel joined the Pioneers after transferring from other institutions. Hill, no stranger to the conference, was the NEC Rookie of the Year with FDU during his first season of play. He then went on to play at St. Bonaventure for a year, before making his way to SHU for year three. McGee, a transfer from Division II, West Chester, will be a key contributor as a guard for the Pioneers. Sobel joins the Red and White after a stellar career at Division III, Middlebury, where he was named the Division III National Player of the Year, First-Team All-America, and NESCAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year.
 
ROOKIE SZN
The Pioneers welcome a pair of rookies to the squad. Lucius Gibson-Savadel and Daniel Bublil will play their first season of collegiate basketball. Gibson-Savadel is a 6'11", 235-pound first-year forward from Bay Shore, N.Y. Bublil is a 6'0" guard from Ra'anana, Israel, and played at IMG Academy during his high school career. 
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK?
After dealing with some injuries last season, the Pioneers are excited to see the return of Aidan Carpenter and Brendan McGuire.
 
KEEPING IT LOCAL
Sacred Heart has three players from Connecticut. Joey Reilly is from Cromwell, Conn., and went to East Catholic High School, where he played for his uncle, Luke Reilly. Joey's father is the head coach at Division III Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. Raheem Solomon is from Hartford, Conn., and played his high school career at Sacred Heart High School. He and Reilly played against each other during their high school days. Finally, Aidan Carpenter is originally from Hamden, Conn.
 
EYES ON THE PRIZE
The Pioneers have their sights set on bringing home their first NEC Championship trophy. Head Coach Anthony Latina believes he has pieced together the right group to get the job done as he described his 2023-24 squad as his most complete team. The Pioneers will face challenging opponents during the non-conference schedule in hopes of good preparation for conference play. SHU will be taking on teams from a variety of leagues including Ivy, Patriot, America East, MAAC, Big East, and the Atlantic 10. The NEC coaches picked SHU first in the preseason poll and the Pioneers are eager to prove them right.