FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team was unable to stop two of the top three scorers in the league and fell, 99-86, to Bryant on Thursday night in Northeast Conference action. Despite the fall, the Pioneers showed its largest offensive scoring output against a Division I opponent this season in regulation led by senior Aaron Clarke with 21 points. 
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 8-15, 4-6
Bryant: 15-8, 11-1
 
Top Performers:
Aaron Clarke: 21 points, 6 assists
Nico Galette: 16 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists
Tyler Thomas: 16 points, 4 assists, 2 steals 

Up Next:
Sacred Heart takes a short trip to Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip on NEC Front Row. 
 
Of Note:
The Pioneers had trouble stopping two Bulldogs in Peter Kiss and Charles Pride. The duo combined for 71 of Bryant's 99 points. As a team, the Bulldogs shot just seven-for-18 from three-point range as they grabbed 46 points from the paint. Bryant finished the game shooting 50.8% from the field (32-63).

The game was tied six times and had three lead changes before Pride picked up an and-one to spark a 13-3 run to ride out the half. The run gave the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead, 50-38, at the halftime break. The Pioneers would get as close as nine to start the second half, but it wasn't long before the Bulldogs grew to its largest lead of the night of 24 points, 83-59, which was unrecoverable. 
 
The Bulldogs won the rebound battle, 38-30, but ultimately took advantage of SHU's mistakes. The Pioneers turned the ball over 17 times which resulted in 27 fast-break points for the Black & Gold. Sacred Heart forced 14 turnovers but were unable to get a single point in transition.  
 
Clarke was on-brand tonight as he led the team with 21 points and six assists. Sophomore Nico Galette also contributed his second-straight double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Rahway, N.J. product now has six on the year and continues to rank second in the NEC in that category. Junior Tyler Thomas matched Galette with 16 points shooting four-of-11 from behind the arc.