Jan. 19, 2008

Final Stats

EMMITSBURG, MD - It had been four straight trips to Maryland and four straight losses for the Sacred Heart University men's basketball team. The Pioneers exorcised some demons on Saturday night when they escaped with a 67-59 Northeast Conference win over Mount St. Mary's University. Senior Brice Brooks led the way for the Pioneers with 19 points.

The Pioneers opened up their biggest lead of the first half at 22-16 with 7:54 left. SHU suffered a drought for the next 5:14 and The Mount used that for an 8-0 that gave them a 24-22 lead with 2:40 left. The Pioneers retook the lead at 26-24 on a pair of Brooks free throws and carried that into a 31-28 lead at the intermission.

Chris Vann gave the Mountaineers (8-10, 4-3) a 47-43 midway through the second half with a three pointer, and The Mount still held that edge after a Sam Atupem with 6:57

Brooks gave the Pioneers the lead back with a pair of free throws with 3:20 left, 57-55. Senior guard Drew Shubik extended it to 61-57 with two free throws with just 1:38 to play. Vann hit one of two free throws to make it a one possession game with 1:23 remaining.

Ryan Litke put a dagger in the hearts of Mount fans when he drained a three with 1:09 left that pushed the Pioneer lead to six points. Litke finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

The win was the third straight for SHU moved the Pioneers to 9-10 overall and 6-2 in the NEC.