FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Nico Galette and Raheem Solomon combined for 45 points to lead the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team to an 87-81 victory over Le Moyne at home in Northeast Conference action on Saturday afternoon. Solomon tallied a season-high 23 points, while Galette recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the Pioneers victory.
Records:
SHU: 12-12, 6-3 NEC
Le Moyne: 9-13, 4-4 NEC
Leaders:
Raheem Solomon: 23 points
Nico Galette: 22 points, 10 rebounds
Brendan McGuire: 10 assists, 9 points
Of Note:
Solomon shot 9-for-11 from the field and was 5-for-6 from behind the arc. Brendan McGuire dished out 10 assists for his second consecutive game with double-digit assists. Galette has now scored 20+ points, seven times this season.
Sacred Heart found themselves trailing by eight at 13:23 in the second half, but a Kyle McGee three-pointer sparked a 9-2 run for the SHU, capped by a Solomon triple to pull within one, 58-57.
Galette scored four straight points to tie the game 61-61 at 9:39. Le Moyne answered and went ahead 65-61, but a Joey Reilly jumper sparked a 14-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back triples from Mike Sixsmith and Solomon to give control back to the home team, taking a 75-67 lead with 4:51 left in the second half.
Le Moyne cut the deficit to three with 1:23 left in the game but the final minute was all Sixsmith and Solomon as SHU maintained a six-point lead and won its second straight game to remain perfect at home in conference play with the 87-81 final.
Sacred Heart opened the game with a 6-0 run but the Dolphins answered with seven straight points to jump ahead by one. Alex Sobel brought in three straight points off an and-one situation to take back the lead 9-7. A Solomon triple put Sacred Heart ahead by five, 12-7, at 13:20 in the first.
At 8:03 in the first, Le Moyne went on a 9-2 run to come from behind to take a 23-19 lead. A Solomon three-pointer at 3:22 tied the game at 27-27, but at 2:16, the Dolphins hit a triple to go ahead 32-19. SHU was able to pull within one after two free throws for McGuire, but Le Moyne extended its lead to take a 38-33 halftime advantage.
Sacred Heart completed the series sweep over Le Moyne as the Pios shot 51.8% from the field and had 35 bench points to take the home win.
Up Next:
Sacred Heart will travel to Central Connecticut State University on Thursday, February 8, at 7:00 pm for the Pioneer's first of three straight road games. CCSU is tied with Merrimack for first place in the league, while the Pioneers are right behind in third.
