BOSTON, Mass. – Behind a season-high 20-point performance from Amiri Stewart, the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team won its second consecutive game, taking down Boston University 73-65 on the road on Sunday evening. Stewart led four players in double figures for the Pioneers in the victory.
Nyle Ralph-Beyer had a career day with 17 points and nine rebounds while shooting 50% from the field and three-point range. Anquan Hill added 12 points in the victory and Mekhi Conner tallied 10 points and seven assists, his fourth straight game in double figures.
Records:
Sacred Heart: 3-5
Boston Univ.: 3-5
Leaders:
Amiri Stewart: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Nyle Ralph-Beyer: 17 points, 9 rebounds
Anquan Hill: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks
Mekhi Conner: 10 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds
Of Note:
Sacred Heart shot a season-best 46.4% (13-for-28) from three-point range, as six different Pioneers recorded a triple. The game was tied three times, but SHU never let Boston take the lead.
Sacred Heart opened the game with some excellent three-point shooting, as Hill hit back-to-back triples to get things started this evening. The Pioneers were a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc through the first seven minutes of play, giving them a commanding 17-4 advantage.
SHU maintained a double-digit advantage, including a highlight-reel play as Stewart brought down a defensive rebound and passed it off to Griffin Barrouk, who then sent Ralph-Beyer to the hoop for an alley-oop for a 26-12 lead at 8:42 in the opening half.
Boston University went on a 14-1 run to pull within one, 27-26, before a three-pointer from Barrouk gave the Pioneers a four-point edge, 30-26. The Terriers were able to make a layup with 10 seconds left in the half, but SHU had the advantage heading into the break leading, 30-28. The Pios shot 50% (7-for-14) from three-point range in the opening frame.
Boston was able to tie the game three times in the opening three minutes of play in the second, but after a 36-36 tie, the Pioneers answered with a 14-0 run, highlighted by five points each from Hill and Aidan Carpenter, to take a 50-36 lead.
The Terriers cut their deficit to single digits, hitting a pair of triples and a pair of free throws to pull within five with just under five minutes to play. Stewart added two more, but BU pulled within three, twice in 30 seconds. Five straight from Conner, including a logo three-pointer followed by a dunk from Stewart, gave the Pioneers a cushion as they jumped ahead 67-59.
Boston pulled within seven with 23 seconds left, but Conner and Stewart made four straight free throws to go ahead, 73-62, with eight seconds remaining. The Terriers hit a triple in the final seconds, but SHU maintained their edge, taking the 73-65 final.
Stewart shot 60% (6-for-10) from the field in his 20-point performance.
Up Next:
Sacred Heart will open Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play against Iona at home on Friday, Dec. 6, at 7:00 pm, for the team's second game in the newly renovated William H. Pitt Center.
