Oxford, Ohio— The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team dropped its non-conference road contest to Miami University (OH) 94-76 on Sunday afternoon. Tanner Thomas led three players in double figures for the second consecutive game. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 4-8, (1-1 MAAC)
Miami (OH): 7-4, (0-0 MAC) 

Leaders:
Tanner Thomas: 15 points. 2 rebounds 
Griffin Barrouk: 11 points, 3 assists
Fallou Gueye: 10 points, 4 rebounds

Of Note:
Sacred Heart had a strong start to open the game, going on an 11-3 run through the first two and a half minutes of play. Thomas made a layup, followed by three straight triples from himself, Fallou Gueye, and Griffin Barrouk, forcing Miami to take an early timeout. 

The Redhawks made a free throw, but Gueye made a pair of his own and Thomas made a layup to give the Pioneers a 15-4 advantage. Miami hit a three-pointer to cut their deficit to eight, but a Gueye jumper pushed SHU back ahead by 10, 17-7. Miami answered with seven straight to pull within three at 12:34.

A layup from Bryce Johnson put SHU ahead by five, but the Redhawks hit back-to-back triples to take their first lead of the game, 20-19. Nyle Ralph-Beyer answered for the Pioneers with a triple to take back the lead, 22-20. 

Miami scored a pair of three-pointers to take a 25-22 lead, but a jumper for Thomas pulled the Pioneers within one at 8:41. From there, Miami jumped ahead 42-25. A Ralph-Beyer layup and Gueye trey gave the Pios five straight points, cutting their deficit to 12 with 2:46 left in the half. Miami scored eight straight in the final two minutes to take a 50-30 edge heading into the break, 

The Redhawks jumped ahead by 24 lead through the opening three minutes of the second half, but after three-pointers from Barrouk, Anquan Hill, and Thomas, the Pioneers cut the deficit to 20 at 14:19. Miami was able to hold a 20-or more advantage until the final minute of play. Lucius Gibson-Savadel made a pair of free throws to tally his first points as a Pioneer and cut the deficit to 19. Keyishon Miller scored three points off an and-one play to cut the final deficit to 18 as Miami took the 94-76 final 
 
Taj Bryant picked up career-highs in three categories with four steals and four rebounds and tied his career-high in points with six. Miller scored a career-high five points, and Gibson-Savadel's two points was the first of his career. 

Sacred Heart shot 42.3% (11-for-26) from behind the arc. Thomas shot 50% (6-for-12) from the field and only missed once from three-point range. 

Up Next: 
After a short Holiday break, the Pioneers will return home on Sunday, December 29, at 2:00 pm, as they host Manhattanville in the William H. Pitt Center.