NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.— Senior
Nico Galette recorded a double-double, leading four players in double figures as the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team fell 88-81 to Iona on Friday evening at the Hynes Center. Galette's 20 points are his second consecutive 20-point performance.
Records:
SHU: 1-1
Iona: 1-1
Leaders:
Nico Galette: 20 points, 10 rebounds
Tanner Thomas: 17 points, 7 rebounds
Aidan Carpenter: 14 points
Raheem Solomon: 10 points
Of Note:
Aidan Carpenter capped off a thrilling opening half with a layup at the buzzer to give SHU a 40-39 lead. The momentum carried into the second half as Solomon immediately knocked down a three to give the Pios a 43-39 to open the second half.
Tanner Thomas put Sacred Heart up by five with a layup at 19:02 for a 47-42 SHU lead.
Wheza Panzo knocked down a three to give Iona the first lead of the second half, 50-49. The Gaels extended their lead to five at 15:56, but SHU answered with back-to-back three-pointers by
Kyle McGee and
Brendan McGuire, putting SHU back up by one, 58-57.
At 11:55, Galette sparked a seven-point run for the Pios, including five points from Thomas, giving SHU its largest lead of the second half with eight, at 68-60. The Gaels clawed their way back and cut their deficit to two, before the Pioneers scored five straight points to go up by seven, 73-66.
Iona took control with just over three minutes left in the game. The Gaels went from down three points to up four. The Pioneers could not get into a rhythm to close out the game and finished with the 88-81 final.
In the opening half, Iona led by as many as eight points through the opening half but the Pioneers really put the pressure on, tying the game 25-25 at 7:19. Back-to-back treys by Solomon and Thomas gave SHU a six-point lead, 31-25 with 5:24 in the first. Iona went up by one with 1:08 left, but Carpenter was able to take it to the basket to secure the lead at the buzzer at halftime, 40-39.
SHU shot 50.8% (31-of-61) from the field and 50% from three-point range (9-of-18) and outrebounded the Gaels 38-37.
Up Next: Sacred Heart is back on the road on Tuesday, November 14, at 7:00 PM at Holy Cross.
