Jan. 7, 2008

Final Stats

BROOKLYN, NY - Junior Ryon Howard (Bronx, NY) scored 17 points, while sophomore Chauncey Hardy (Middletown, CT) added 16 to lead the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team to a 75-68 win over Long Island University in a Northeast Conference game Monday night.

In what was a ragged first half, LIU jumped out to a 7-0 lead and it took the Pioneers nearly four minutes to score their first points. Sophomore Ryan Litke (Windsor, CT) helped keep SHU in the game by nailing three treys in the half, leading all scorers with nine points. The two teams went to the intermission tied at 28-28, the difference being the ten free throws converted by LIU to just two for Sacred Heart.

Sacred Heart, 6-9 overall and 3-1 in the conference, came out strong at the start of the second half and took a five-point lead at 36-31 on a Howard jumper with 17:37 left.

A Chanucey Hardy free throw with 7:30 left gave the Pioneers their biggest lead at 59-48. A layup by Jaytornah Wisseh with 4:55 to go cut the Pioneer lead to 61-55. Wisseh shaved it to four with another layup with 4:11 left. A SHU turnover followed by a layup by Ron Manigault with 3:40 to go made it just a two-point SHU lead.

Drew Shubik stopped the bleeding by taking a rebound and driving the layup to make it 63-59. Manigault missed a jumper on the next LIU trip and Ryon Howard was fouled grabbing the rebound. Howard made the front end of the one-and-one and SHU led 64-59 with 2:50 left.

Howard made a block of a Wisseh layup attempt with 1:50 left and Brice Brooks was fouled grabbing the rebound. He made one of two to put SHU up 67-61. Howard put the dagger in the LIU hearts with a jumper with :53 left to give the Pioneers and eight-point bulge.

Shubik finished the game with just four points for the Pioneers, but had eight rebounds, nine assists and three steals while committing just one turnover. Hardy finished with 16 points, while Brooks had 11.

Wisseh led Long Island with 21 points, while Eugene Kotorobai added 14. The Blackbirds were just six of 30 three-point range. LIU dropped to 9-6 overall and 1-2 in the NEC.