Men's Basketball Ready for 2024-25 Season
11/1/2024 10:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SHU opens the season on the road on Monday
FAIRFIELD, Conn.— It's a new era for Sacred Heart University and the men's basketball team heading into the 2024-25 season. The Pioneers enter their first year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and will play their home games in the newly renovated William H. Pitt Center.
Sacred Heart opens the season on Monday at Temple at 5:30 pm. The Pioneers will be busy on the road through the opening two weeks of the season, traveling to UConn on Wednesday, Nov. 6, Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 9, and will head to Brown for a three-game tournament starting on Friday, Nov. 15.
Anthony Latina enters his 12th season as Head Coach of the Pioneers and is ready to lead his team through this transition.
SHU returns three active players from last season's team. Tanner Thomas, whose season was cut short due to injury. Raymond Espinal-Guzman, a redshirt junior forward who appeared in 24 games last season. Lastly, Aidan Carpenter, a redshirt junior guard who made 30 appearances with 16 starts. A familiar face returns to the Pioneers as Bryce Johnson makes his way back to SHU after a year at Northeastern. Johnson graduated from Sacred Heart in three years and played with the Huskies last season. He was interested in returning to SHU, and Coach Latina welcomed him back with open arms.
Thomas was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team. He averaged 10.8 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game during his nine appearances last season before missing the remainder of the year to injury. He scored a season-high 21 points in the Pioneers victory over Holy Cross and matched his career-high in rebounds with 14 in SHU's home-opening win over Sarah Lawrence. During his career at Sacred Heart, Thomas has appeared in 55 games and 13 starts, posting a .488 career field goal percentage. The MAAC announced three preseason all-conference teams, including a preseason player of the year. In addition to the preseason teams, the MAAC announced the results of the 2024 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Pioneers were selected 13th with 37 votes.
Anquan Hill and Lucius Gibson-Savadel will make their debut for SHU this season. Hill transferred into the program before the start of the 2023-24 season. He was the 2021-22 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year from FDU, who then transferred to St. Bonaventure for his sophomore year. At FDU, he averaged 7.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 24 minutes per game while starting 17 of 26 contests. Hill scored in double figures nine times and tallied a season-best 21 points vs. Sacred Heart. He blocked nearly a shot per game, was ranked second on the Knights in scoring during NEC play, and led the team in rebounding. At St. Bonaventure, Hill appeared in 31 games, averaging 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.4 mins per game.
There will be 11 new faces on the Pioneers roster this season, with seven first-years and four transferring in. Griffin Barrouk, a junior from Hofstra, and Amiri Stewart, a senior from Wilmington University, join the upperclassman squad. Redshirt sophomore Jaden Slaughter joins the Pioneers from St Joseph's Collegiate Institute, and junior Keyishon Miller is a new addition from Fort Hays Tech Northwest.
Sacred Heart's first years include Nyle Ralph-Beyer from West Chester, Pa., Taj Bryant from Queens, N.Y., Malik Sheppard from Edgewater, N.J., Fallou Gueye from Theis, Senegal, Alex Woodring from Wyckoff, N.J. Rounding out the incoming first-year class is Mekhi Conner, who is no stranger to the area having played at Notre Dame-West Haven and is originally from New Haven, Conn.
The Pioneers will have its first home game of the season in the renovated Pitt Center on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 8 pm against Central Connecticut State. The men's team will host the second game of a grand-opening doubleheader as the women take on Monmouth at 5:30 pm.
Sacred Heart will open conference play on Dec. 6 at home against Iona at 2 pm. The Pioneers will face eight MAAC opponents twice and will meet four conference opponents once during the season. The regular season will wrap up on the road at Iona on Mar. 8. SHU will face both in-state MAAC rivals, Fairfield and Quinnipiac, twice. The MAAC Championship Tournament will take place from March 11-15 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
Sacred Heart opens the season on Monday at Temple at 5:30 pm. The Pioneers will be busy on the road through the opening two weeks of the season, traveling to UConn on Wednesday, Nov. 6, Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 9, and will head to Brown for a three-game tournament starting on Friday, Nov. 15.
Anthony Latina enters his 12th season as Head Coach of the Pioneers and is ready to lead his team through this transition.
SHU returns three active players from last season's team. Tanner Thomas, whose season was cut short due to injury. Raymond Espinal-Guzman, a redshirt junior forward who appeared in 24 games last season. Lastly, Aidan Carpenter, a redshirt junior guard who made 30 appearances with 16 starts. A familiar face returns to the Pioneers as Bryce Johnson makes his way back to SHU after a year at Northeastern. Johnson graduated from Sacred Heart in three years and played with the Huskies last season. He was interested in returning to SHU, and Coach Latina welcomed him back with open arms.
Thomas was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Third Team. He averaged 10.8 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game during his nine appearances last season before missing the remainder of the year to injury. He scored a season-high 21 points in the Pioneers victory over Holy Cross and matched his career-high in rebounds with 14 in SHU's home-opening win over Sarah Lawrence. During his career at Sacred Heart, Thomas has appeared in 55 games and 13 starts, posting a .488 career field goal percentage. The MAAC announced three preseason all-conference teams, including a preseason player of the year. In addition to the preseason teams, the MAAC announced the results of the 2024 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Pioneers were selected 13th with 37 votes.
Anquan Hill and Lucius Gibson-Savadel will make their debut for SHU this season. Hill transferred into the program before the start of the 2023-24 season. He was the 2021-22 Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year from FDU, who then transferred to St. Bonaventure for his sophomore year. At FDU, he averaged 7.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 24 minutes per game while starting 17 of 26 contests. Hill scored in double figures nine times and tallied a season-best 21 points vs. Sacred Heart. He blocked nearly a shot per game, was ranked second on the Knights in scoring during NEC play, and led the team in rebounding. At St. Bonaventure, Hill appeared in 31 games, averaging 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.4 mins per game.
There will be 11 new faces on the Pioneers roster this season, with seven first-years and four transferring in. Griffin Barrouk, a junior from Hofstra, and Amiri Stewart, a senior from Wilmington University, join the upperclassman squad. Redshirt sophomore Jaden Slaughter joins the Pioneers from St Joseph's Collegiate Institute, and junior Keyishon Miller is a new addition from Fort Hays Tech Northwest.
Sacred Heart's first years include Nyle Ralph-Beyer from West Chester, Pa., Taj Bryant from Queens, N.Y., Malik Sheppard from Edgewater, N.J., Fallou Gueye from Theis, Senegal, Alex Woodring from Wyckoff, N.J. Rounding out the incoming first-year class is Mekhi Conner, who is no stranger to the area having played at Notre Dame-West Haven and is originally from New Haven, Conn.
The Pioneers will have its first home game of the season in the renovated Pitt Center on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 8 pm against Central Connecticut State. The men's team will host the second game of a grand-opening doubleheader as the women take on Monmouth at 5:30 pm.
Sacred Heart will open conference play on Dec. 6 at home against Iona at 2 pm. The Pioneers will face eight MAAC opponents twice and will meet four conference opponents once during the season. The regular season will wrap up on the road at Iona on Mar. 8. SHU will face both in-state MAAC rivals, Fairfield and Quinnipiac, twice. The MAAC Championship Tournament will take place from March 11-15 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
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