FAIRFIELD, Conn.— Kicking off its first of three consecutive home games, the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team wraps up non-conference play on Sunday, Dec. 29, at 2:00 pm against Manhattanville in the William H. Pitt Center.
LIVE STATS | ESPN+ | GAME NOTES
Opening Tip:
- Sacred Heart and Manhattanville meet for the third time ever on Sunday. The overall record is 1-1, dating back to 1979. SHU won the first game in the series, 76-60 on 2/5/79, and the Valiants won the second game, 71-63 on 2/12/80.
- The Pioneers will play their third consecutive and final non-conference game after opening Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action with a 1-1 record.
- Sacred Heart is coming off a 94-76 loss to Miami (OH) on the road on Sunday. Tanner Thomas led three players in double figures with 15 points.
- Three Pioneers are averaging double figures: Thomas (13.1), Amiri Stewart (12.6), and Anquan Hill (11.4).
- Bryce Johnson leads the team in rebounds with 6.2 per game, followed by Ray Espinal-Guzman (4.3) and Thomas (4.1).
- Mekhi Conner is the team leader in assists (4.4) & Stewart (2.1) in steals.
- Sacred Heart returns three active members from last year's team: Thomas, who made nine appearances before missing the remainder of the season with an injury. Raymond Espinal-Guzman, a redshirt junior forward who appeared in 24 games last season, and Aidan Carpenter, a redshirt junior guard who made 30 appearances with 16 starts.
- Thomas was named to the All-MAAC preseason third team.
- Johnson returns to Sacred Heart after a year at Northeastern.
- This year is Sacred Heart's first season as a full-time member of the MAAC.
- The Pioneers have 10 new players on the team.
- Head Coach Anthony Latina is in his 12th season as head coach and 20th year overall with the Pioneers.
Last time out:
- Sacred Heart fell to Miami (OH) 94-76 on the road on Sunday.
- Thomas was the Pioneers' leading scorer (15), followed by Griffin Barrouk, who scored a season-high 11 points, and Fallou Gueye (10). Johnson led the team in rebounds with nine.
- Taj Bryant picked up career-highs in three categories with four steals and four rebounds and tied his career-high in points with six. Keyishon Miller scored a career-high five points, and Lucius Gibson-Savadel scored his first career points.
About the Valiants:
- Manhattanville is 4-6 on the season and 0-1 in Skyline Conference play. The Valiants were selected fourth in the Skyline Conference Preseason Poll.
- Andrew Saint-Louis leads the team with 15.9 points, followed by John Ranaghan (13.8) and Andrew Melillo with 13.8.
- Jack Scanlon is the team leader in rebounds with 5.1.
- Manhattanville is coming off a 78-69 conference-opening loss to University of Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday, Dec. 14.