EASTON, Mass.—Alex Sobel and Nico Galette both tallied double-doubles and Aidan Carpenter scored a team-high 17 points leading the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team to a 79-51 victory over Stonehill on Thursday evening in Northeast Conference action. Six Pioneers scored in double figures in the road victory as Sacred Heart clinched the third seed for the NEC Tournament. 

Sobel and Joey Reilly recorded double figures by the first half and Sacred Heart held the Skyhawks to 21 points, the second-fewest points they've allowed in a first half this season and the lowest points SHU has allowed in a half in NEC play. 

Records:
SHU: 15-15, 9-6 NEC
Stonehill: 4-26, 2-13 NEC

Leaders:
Aidan Carpenter: 17 points
Joey Reilly: 14 points
Alex Sobel: 12 points, 11 rebounds
Nico Galette: 11 points, 10 rebounds
Raheem Solomon: 10 points
Kyle McGee: 10 points, 8 rebounds

Of Note:
Sacred Heart opened the game with a 9-0 run through the first media timeout, led by Sobel with four points and Joey Reilly with three.

Stonehill put four on the board, but the Pioneers kept their foot on the gas and jumped ahead 17-4 through the first 10 minutes. A Galette three-pointer put SHU ahead 20-9 but Stonehill answered with a run of their own to pull within four, 20-16.

A Reilly triple sparked an 11-0 run capped by a Carpenter trey to extend the Pioneers lead to 31-16 at 4:16 in the half.  Stonehill pulled within 12 with under three minutes left but back-to-back three-pointers from Kyle McGee and Raheem Solomon gave Sacred Heart an 18-point edge, leading 39-21 at the half. The Pioneers hit seven three-pointers in the opening half, the second most they've shot in a first half this season. 

Reilly gave SHU a 20-point advantage right out of halftime with a quick layup. A Stonehill three-pointer at 17:44 cut the Skyhawks deficit to 16 but Sacred Heart led by 18 or more points through the remainder of the game. The Pioneers went ahead by 28 off a Tommaso Ferraresi three-pointer with 1:24 left in the game. Daniel Bublil added a jumper with 18 seconds left to seal the 79-51 road victory for the Pioneers. 
 
Sacred Heart shot 53.3% (32-60) from the field and 55% (11-20) from three-point range. The Pioneers outrebounded Stonehill 41-38.

Sobel tallied his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Galette had his team-leading sixth double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. 

Up Next:
The Pioneers will wrap up regular season play against Merrimack at home on Saturday, March 2 at 2:00 pm in the William H. Pitt Center.