PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team fell 89-70 to Brown on the final day of the College Hill Classic on Sunday. Amiri Stewart led four Pioneers in double figures as SHU finished the tournament with a 1-2 record. 

Records: 
Sacred Heart: 1-5
Brown: 2-3

Leaders: 
Amiri Stewart: 14 points, 2 steals
Bryce Johnson: 12 points, 3 rebounds 
Tanner Thomas: 12 points, 3 rebounds 
Mekhi Conner: 11 points, 2 steals  

Of Note: 
The opening half was very back-and-forth, with neither team leading by more than seven points. Stewart shot 4-for-6 with nine points to lead Sacred Heart in the opening half. 

Tanner Thomas made his presence known in his return after missing the previous two games. 

Two minutes into the game, SHU was down by four before Griffin Barrouk hit a three-pointer to pull the Pioneers within one, 7-6. Brown answered with a triple to push ahead by two, but six straight points from Sacred Heart gave the Pios the lead, 12-9, at 15:52.  

The Bears had back-to-back layups to jump back ahead by one, but another layup for Stewart gave the Pioneers a 14-13 edge. Brown went on an 8-0 run to take a seven-point lead but Stewart put away five straight to pull within two with just under 10 minutes left in the half. A pair of Thomas three-pointers brought the Pios from behind to take a four-point lead, 27-23. 

Brown fired back, going on a 10-0 run to take a six-point edge with just over four minutes left in the half. Thomas made a jumper in the paint to send SHU into the break, down by four, 39-35.  

The second half opened with a ton of energy, Raymond Espinal-Guzman made a putback to pull the Pioneers within two, 39-37. Brown answered on the next possession, but Bryce Johnson brought it down for a dunk to once again cut the Sacred Heart deficit to two. The Bears responded with five straight, but Fallou Gueye sent Espinal-Guzman in for an alley-oop to pull the Pioneers within six, 47-41. Unfortunately, Brown had an answer again with seven straight points to take a 13-point lead, 54-41. 

A pair of free throws and a triple for Sacred Heart cut the deficit to single digits at nine, but Brown hit a three to jump back ahead, 60-48. Mekhi Conner answered with eight straight points, including a pair of treys to pull the Pioneers within four 60-56 at 10:44 in the second half. 

The Bears responded and pushed ahead by 10 at 8:38, but a layup from Johnson pulled the Pios within eight at 8:03. That would be the final single-digit deficit, as Brown took over in the final minutes to take the 89-70 final. 

Up Next: 
Sacred Heart will be home for the first time this season on Thursday, Nov. 21, when it takes on Central Connecticut State at 8:00 p.m. in the grand reopening of the Pitt Center. Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster or by calling 203-396-8499.