FAIRFIELD, Conn.— Joey Reilly scored 21 points to lead the Sacred Heart men's basketball team to a 69-67 victory over Central Connecticut State in Northeast Conference action on Saturday afternoon to close out the regular season. With the win, the Pioneers have secured a home game for the NEC tournament as the fourth seed.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 15-16, 8-8 NEC
CCSU: 10-21, 7-9 NEC

Top Performers:
Joey Reilly: 21 points
Bryce Johnson: 12 points, 6 rebounds
Raheem Solomon: 12 points, 4 rebounds

Of Note:
After trailing in the first half, Sacred Heart had a strong second half as they battled their way to its final regular season victory. SHU had a five-point lead with 16 seconds in the game. The Blue Devils made a three-pointer with nine seconds left to pull within two, 68-66. Solomon had a good free-throw with 5 seconds on the clock to give the Pioneers a three-point lead, 69-66. Central made one final free throw, but the Pioneers grabbed the rebound to hold onto the ball as the clock ran out to secure the win.

Central went up by seven to open the second half before Sacred Heart answered with the next five points to bring the Pioneers within two, 36-34. Tanner Thomas made a layup at 15:59 that sparked an 8-2 run, capped by a Reilly three-pointer for a 42-40 Sacred Heart lead. For the following eight minutes, neither team would lead by no more than three points. Reilly made a jumper at 6:52 to start a 9-3 run for Sacred Heart, capped by a Reilly three-pointer to give the Pioneers its largest lead of the game, 62-56, with 4:35 left in the second half.  

After a 4-4 tie two and a half minutes into the game, neither team led by more than two points until the Central made a three-pointer at 7:43 to take a 19-16 lead. Reilly knocked down a three at 4:34 to give Sacred Heart a 24-22 advantage. The Blue Devils tied it at 4:19, 24-24, before scoring the next seven points to take a 31-24 lead with 1:35 left in the half. Central went up by eight with 50 seconds left in the half, but Johnson hit a three with 36 seconds left to cut the SHU deficit to five as the Pioneers trailed 34-29 at the half.

Sacred Heart had three players in double figures in the win.

Up Next:
Sacred Heart has secured the fourth seed and will host the fifth seed, Wagner on Wednesday, March 1st at 7 PM in an NEC quarterfinal.