WORCESTER, Mass. – After seven unanswered Sacred Heart points tied the game, 51-51, for the first time since the 13:32 mark of the first half with 7:21 remaining, Holy Cross closed the game on an 18-9 run to pull away and hand the Pioneers their fourth loss in a row on Wednesday afternoon at the Hart Recreation Center. SHU moves to 1-4, while the Crusaders snap a three-game losing streak to improve to 2-3.    

HC immediately responded to that tie with an Anthony Thompson layup the next trip down the floor, and would not trail the remainder of the game.  After three Thompson free throws made it 56-51 with 6:31 left, Tevin Falzon made a jumper and then 1-2 from the line on back-to-back possessions to SHU pull back within two, 56-54, at the 5:49 mark.

Once again Holy Cross came back, scoring four straight points to extend the lead back to six with two Robert Champion free throws with 4:35 showing. A Sean Hoehn trifecta 19 seconds later got the Pioneers as close as three, but HC would score the next five points to ice the game, including a three-pointer by Thompson at the shot clock buzzer with 2:57 remaining, as Sacred Heart went scoreless for nearly four minutes. 

With both teams making 21 field goals and eight three-pointers, the difference ended up coming at the line, with Holy Cross making 19 to SHU's ten on 13 more attempts. The Crusaders also had half as many turnovers, 14-7, as the Pioneers.  

Tevin Falzon led Sacred Heart with 21 points, one shy of a career-high, and a game-high seven rebounds. With 19 points, Cane Broome was the only other Pioneer in double figures, adding six rebounds and a team-high four assists. Hoehn scored a career-high eight points to go along with three assists and a team best two steals, while no other SHU player scored more than four points. 

It was Karl Charles leading five Crusaders in double figures with 15, while also grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. Matt Zignorski added 13, including three triples, with Alexander chipping in with 11. Thompson and Cullen Hamilton contributed ten points each.

Sacred Heart ha  a week off before playing UConn for the first time since 2006 next Wednesday at 7 pm in the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.

Noteworthy

• Falzon matched his 12 points from his season debut on Saturday just 11:03 into the game
• With the eight three-pointers following Sacred Heart's ten on Saturday night, the Pioneers have made at least eight trifectas in back-to-back games for the first time since December 4 and 7, 2013
• SHU has lost 14 of its last 15 games when shooting under 40 percent

Inside the Numbers

• Holy Cross had the slightest advantage in points in the paint (26-24), points off turnovers (11-8), and bench points (17-13), while second chance points (9-9) and fast break points (2-2)were both even
• SHU won the rebounding battle 37-32

 How it Happened

• First Half
  • Falzon scored the first seven points of the game for the Pioneers, while Charles and Hamilton combined for the Holy Cross' first points
  • SHU jumped out to its largest lead early, 11-7, when Sean Hoehn made a layup 5:19 in
  • A Matt Husek foul shot at the 10:45 mark  capped a 10-1 Crusader run for a 17-12 lead, and SHU would only get as close as two the rest of the half
  • The latest occurrence came with just 2:22 left when Filip Nowicki's layup made the score 33-31.
  • The Holy Cross lead reached a first half-high eight when Alexander and Husek drilled back-to-back three-pointers 40 seconds apart for a 39-31 advantage
  • SHU scored the final three points of the half, including a Broome free throw with just two seconds on the clock to make it 39-34

•  Second Half
  • Before the tie, four times the Holy Cross lead reached a second-half high seven points. First just 14 seconds out of halftime after an Alexander layup, and the fourth time when a Charles free throw stretched the advantaged to 51-44 with 10:46 showing.
  • In between those two scores, the Crusader lead stayed between three and seven.
  • After the Charles free throw, the 7-0 SHU run to tie the game began when Broome made a three just 16 seconds later. Falzon scored the final four points of the stretch, making a layup at the 8:31 mark and then two free throws with 7:29 remaining.