FAIRFIELD, Conn.— Five Pioneers scored in double figures as the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team cruised to a 95-51 victory over Sarah Lawrence at home to open the season on Monday evening. Senior Nico Galette scored a team-high 24 points, and graduate Alex Sobel recorded a double-double in his debut for the Pioneers.

Top Performers:
Nico Galette: 24 points, 7 rebounds
Alex Sobel: 12 points, 10 rebounds
Joey Reilly: 11 points, 5 assists
Raheem Solomon: 11 points  
Raymond Espinal-Guzman: 10 points, 7 rebounds
Tanner Thomas: 14 rebounds, 8 points

Of Note:
Sobel put the Pioneers on the board first and never looked back. In the opening four minutes of play, Sobel recorded six of the SHU's points as the Pioneers took a quick, 8-2 lead. Solomon, Galette, and Kyle McGee all drained consecutive three-pointers to extend the Pios lead to 17-2. Back-to-back dunks by Galette and Aidan Carpenter gave SHU its largest lead of the first half, 26-6. Espinal-Guzman joined the dunk party with just over a minute left in the half, followed by a Galette jumper to give Sacred Heart a 45-28 halftime advantage.

After a made free-throw for Sarah Lawrence to start the second half, the Pioneers exploded and went on a 22-0 run to take a 67-29 lead. Tanner Thomas put the Pios up by 50, the largest lead of the game with 1:17 left, and first-year Daniel Bublil tallied his first career point with a layup with just under a minute left in the game. Sarah Lawrence scored the final five points of the game, but SHU claimed the 95-51 final at home.

Up Next:
The Pioneers are on the road on Friday, November 10th, at Iona at 7:00 PM.