Thursday, March 5
Atlantic City, N.J.
6:00 PM
Sacred Heart
vs
Iona University
Photo by: Josh Gee
Men’s Basketball Opens MAAC Championships on Thursday Against Iona
3/4/2026 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team will make its second consecutive appearance in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championship on Thursday, March 5, at 6 p.m., taking on No. 8 seed Iona at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.
LIVE STATS | ESPN+ | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | GAME NOTES
OPENING TIP
LIVE STATS | ESPN+ | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | GAME NOTES
OPENING TIP
- Sacred Heart and Iona will meet in the Opening Round of the MAAC Championships, marking the first postseason matchup between the two programs. The teams met once during the regular season, with the Gaels earning an 81-69 victory on Dec. 7.
- SHU enters the tournament following a 77-69 win over Mount St. Mary's on Friday, while Iona is coming off a 69-65 road victory at Manhattan on Sunday.
- The Pioneers are the No. 9 seed in the MAAC Championships, making their second consecutive tournament appearance in just their second year in the league.
- Sacred Heart placed two players on the All-MAAC teams, as Anquan Hill earned First Team honors and Dashon Gittens was named to the Third Team.
- Hill ranks third in the MAAC in scoring at 17.5 points per game. Gittens is 11th in the conference at 14.1 ppg, while Nyle Ralph-Beyer ranks 12th at 14.0 ppg. As a team, Sacred Heart ranks third in the MAAC in scoring offense (75.5 ppg) and leads the league in three-pointers made per game (10.6) and three-point percentage (36.1%).
- Four Pioneers are averaging double figures this season: Hill (17.5 ppg), Gittens (14.1 ppg), Ralph-Beyer (14.0 ppg), and Yann Farell (11.6 ppg).
- Sacred Heart was selected third in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll and led the league with three preseason All-MAAC selections: Hill – First Team, Mekhi Conner – Second Team, Ralph-Beyer – Third Team
- The Pioneers return nine players from last season's roster and added transfers Gittens and Farell, along with four first-year players. Now in its second season in the MAAC, Sacred Heart is coming off a strong league debut that included a seventh-place finish, and a conference tournament win over Fairfield to reach the quarterfinals.
- Sacred Heart features three student-athletes from Africa: Fallou Gueye, Yann Farell, and Abdou Yadd.
- The program is celebrating its 60th season of men's basketball.
- Head coach Anthony Latina is in his 13th season at the helm.
- Iona enters the tournament as the eighth seed with a 10-10 MAAC record.
- The Gaels have four players averaging in double figures: CJ Anthony (14.4), Toby Harris (11.4), Lamin Sabally (11.2), and Kosy Akametu (11.0). Sabally is the team leader in rebounds at 8.2.
- Anthony was named to the All-MAAC second team.
- Iona is coming off two straight wins, the first over Rider (80-58) on Friday and then a 69-65 road win over Manhattan on Sunday.
- The Gaels defeated Sacred Heart earlier this season, 81-69, in the Pitt Center on Dec. 7.
- Sacred Heart University closed the regular season with a 77–69 victory over Mount St. Mary's in MAAC action Friday evening at the Pitt Center. With the win, the Pioneers secured a season sweep of the Mountaineers on Senior Night.
- Farell recorded his first double-double as a Pioneer, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds, as four SHU players scored in double figures.
- After a slow start, Sacred Heart battled back midway through the first half. Five straight points from Jaden Slaughter and Farell pulled the Pioneers within two. Mount St. Mary's answered to extend its lead to four, but a Farell three-pointer cut the deficit to one, 18–17.
- The Mountaineers built their advantage back to six before Yadd and Gittens knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game at 28–28. Mount responded once again, but a Ralph-Beyer three at the buzzer sent SHU into halftime trailing by just one, 32–31.
- After being held scoreless in the first half, Hill erupted for 17 second-half points to lead the Pioneer comeback.
- Hill and Farell combined for the first five points of the second half, giving Sacred Heart its first lead of the game at 36–32. From that point on, the Pioneers never trailed. Mount pulled within one on three separate occasions over the next six minutes, but SHU answered each time.
- With 9:26 remaining, Gittens converted a pair of free throws to give Sacred Heart a 51–45 lead. The Mountaineers responded with four straight points to cut the margin to one yet again. SHU created separation with 4:26 to play when Hill finished at the rim to push the lead to eight.
- Mount St. Mary's trimmed the deficit to one with 2:43 remaining, but that was as close as it would get. Sacred Heart responded with five straight points, highlighted by a Ralph-Beyer and-one, to take a 71–65 lead with 1:29 on the clock.
- The Pioneers sealed the victory at the free-throw line to secure the 77–69 Senior Night win.
- Sacred Heart shot 40.3 percent (25-for-62) from the field and connected on 14 three-pointers. Each of the seniors scored in double figures in their final regular-season home game.
- Sacred Heart's offense leads the MAAC at 75.6 points per game. The Pioneers also lead the conference with 331 made three-pointers, averaging 10.7 per game, 20th nationally and is the league leader in 3PT FG% at .361. SHU's 77.3% free throw percentage is 27th in the country.
- Hill is third in the MAAC in scoring at 17.5 ppg, Gittens is 11th at 14.1 ppg and Ralph-Beyer is 12th in scoring at 14.0 points per game. Gittens owns the eighth-best field-goal percentage in the conference at (.518). Ralph-Beyer (.436), Gittens (.418) and Farell (.399), are fourth, fifth, and eighth, respectively, in the MAAC in three-point percentage. Ralph-Beyer's 3PT FG percentage is 10th in the country.
- Conner is first in the conference with 6.1 assists per game, which is 23rd nationally, and he holds the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the MAAC at 2.5. His 177 assists rank 22nd in the country.
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