FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Raheem Solomon matched his career-high 26 points leading four players in double figures as the Sacred Heart University men's basketball took down Merrimack 89-85 on Saturday afternoon at home in the Northeast Conference regular-season finale. Solomon was one of three players that scored 20 or more points for the Pioneers and Alex Sobel recorded his sixth double-double of the season. SHU remained locked in the third seed for the NEC Tournament.

With the win, the Pioneers snapped Merrimack's 10-game win streak, knocked the Warriors out of the top seed and pushed them to the second seed for the NEC postseason. Sacred Heart finished with their best conference record since the 2019-20 season at 10-6 and their best seeding in the NEC Tournament since also taking the third seed in the 2020-21 season, finishing in the top four in the NEC in five of the last six seasons.  

Records:
SHU: 16-15, 10-6 NEC
Merrimack: 19-11, 13-3 NEC

Leaders:
Raheem Solomon: 26 points
Nico Galette: 22 points, 7 rebounds
Alex Sobel: 20 points, 11 rebounds
Aidan Carpenter: 13 points

Of Note:
Solomon was a force in the opening half, scoring 19 of his 26 points in the first frame. He finished going 10-for-13 from the field and 3-for-5 from three-point range.

Merrimack jumped ahead with a quick 6-1 lead but after that, neither team led by more than three points. That was until a Sobel jumper tied the game at 13-13 and sparked a 10-0 run for the Pioneers, capped by a Solomon jumper to go ahead 21-13 with 11:11 left in the half.

Merrimack answered right out of the media timeout with a 12-0 run of their own to come from behind and take a 26-21 lead. Solomon and Sobel combined for the next eight points as SHU jumped back in the lead, 29-26. A three-pointer from Merrimack would tie the game again at 29-29 at 6:29 in the opening half.

Starting with his three-pointer at 3:02, Solomon scored the final 10 points of the first half for SHU with the game tied up 41-41 with one minute to go until the break. Merrimack made one free throw to take a one-point advantage, 42-41 into halftime.

The Warriors opened the half taking a three-point lead, but it was Solomon and Sobel again that gave SHU four straight points to go ahead 45-44. Neither team led by more than two until a Nico Galette layup at 15:02 gave SHU a three-point lead heading into the first media timeout of the second half.

A three-point and-one play from Solomon gave SHU a five-point lead, sparking a 10-0 run for the Pioneers as they took a 65-53 lead at 12:10 in the second. The Warriors answered with a triple but Galette and Aidan Carpenter scored the next six points to give SHU its largest lead of the day at 15, 71-56 with 9:40 remaining.

Merrimack was able to erase the deficit and tie the game, 75-75 at 4:14. Sobel and Galette added four points for SHU to lead 79-75 with 2:05 left in the game. Merrimack hit a trey to bring it within one with two minutes to go but Galette, Carpenter, and Kyle McGee put the Pios up by six with 50 seconds left.

The Warriors pulled within two with just about two seconds left in the game, but a pair of Sobel free throws gave SHU its 89-85 final.

Sacred Heart shot 54.1% from the field and outrebounded the Warriors 36-25.

Up Next:
The Pioneers are the third seed in the NEC Tournament and will host #6 Wagner in a quarterfinal on Wednesday, March 6 at 7:00 pm in the William H. Pitt Center.