PHILADELPHIA, Pa.— The Sacred Heart University men's basketball team used a strong second half on the road, but it was not enough as Saint Joseph's defeated the Pioneers 64-55 on Sunday afternoon. Nico Galette led three players in double figures for Sacred Heart.

Records:
SHU: 4-3
Saint Joseph's: 4-2

Leaders:
Nico Galette: 16 points, 6 rebounds
Alex Sobel: 13 points, 7 rebounds
Joey Reilly:  12 points, 3 steals

Of Note:
The Hawks opened the second half with a quick five points to take the largest lead of the game at 39-22. Sacred Heart answered and battled for the remainder of the second half. It started with a three-point and-one play from Raheem Solomon at 18:30. Followed by two made free throws for Alex Sobel at 18:02 that sparked an 11-2 run for SHU to bring the Pioneers within seven, 43-36 at 14:14. 

Galette also secured a three-point play, from an and-one situation to bring Sacred Heart within five, 44-39. Saint Joe's went back up by eight, but a made free throw by Brendan McGuire and a layup from Tanner Thomas brought SHU within five again at 8:37 in the second half.

SJU went on to lead by as many as 14 points, 62-48, with just over three minutes left, but SHU was not done. Thomas knocked down a jumper, and Galette made two free throws to bring the Pioneers within 10 with 2:11 left. Reilly hit a three-pointer at 1:27 to pull within seven, 62-55, but SHU was unable to score again, and Saint Joe's ended with the 64-55 final.

Saint Joseph's opened the game with a 10-0 run, forcing the Pioneers to call a timeout. Sobel answered for Sacred Heart as he sparked a 9-0 run to bring the Pioneers within one, 10-9 at 15:04 in the first.

At 14:36, Cameron Brown knocked down a three-pointer for the Hawks that started a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 17-9. Galette and McGuire combined for the Pioneer's next three points to bring SHU within five, 17-12 at 11:45 in the first. Brown hit another three for SJU, and Galette answered again to keep the five-point deficit for SHU at 10:51. Neither team scored in the following four minutes and 20 seconds until Sobel hit a free throw to bring the Pioneers within four, 20-16.

Reilly and Sobel scored back-to-back points for the Pioneers to get within three, 23-20, with 3:31 left in the first half. The Hawks took control of the final 3:17 to extend their lead 34-22 at halftime.

Sobel shot 4-for-5 from the field and had a game-high four blocks. Sacred Heart outrebounded SJU, 37-35. 

Up Next:
The Pioneers will return home on Thursday, November 30th, to host New Hampshire at 7:00 PM.