FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A cold shooting stretch midway through the second half was the downfall of the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team in its Northeast Conference contest against St. Francis University. The Red Flash topped the Pioneers, 76-68, on Thursday in the first of two NEC games.

Records:
St. Francis: 3-7, 2-4 NEC
Sacred Heart: 4-5, 4-4 NEC

Top Performers:
Tyler Thomas (SHU): 28 points, 4 rebounds 
Bryce Johnson (SHU) 7 points, 9 rebounds
Josh Cohen (SFU): 11 points, 10 rebounds

Up Next:
Game two of the series is Friday at 4 p.m.

Of Note:
Coming out of the break, Tyler Thomas converted a four-point play then Aaron Clarke's layup gave the Pioneers a 46-45 lead. A Quest Harris lay in tied the game at 48-48 with 11:33 to play, but SHU would not score for the next seven minutes – missing 10-straight shots – as the Red Flash went on a 19-0 run that was capped by a Josh Cohen basket. 

Sacred Heart got out to a quick 6-0 lead, but the Red Flash answered with an 8-0 run. Neither team could take control for most of the opening stanza as there were 19 ties or lead changes. St. Francis got a 33-28 lead with 1:40 to play on a 6-0 run to take a 38-32 advantage into the locker room thanks to 57.7 percent shooting. 

In addition to their shooting woes, the Pioneers could not stop the Red Flash as they shot a season-high 50.9 percent from the floor. SHU was held in check from the three-point line by the league's top perimeter defensive team as they only made 4-of-26 from behind the arc.

Leading all scorers was Thomas as he put up 28 points along with four rebounds.  Bryce Johnson and Mike Sixsmith followed with seven points with Johnson and Cantavio Dutreil hauling in nine rebounds each.

St. Francis had a balanced scoring attack with five players producing eight or more points. Led by Maxwell Land's 14. Josh Cohen had an 11-point, 10 rebound double-double.