Nov. 13, 2008

FAIRFIELD, CT - Setting The Scene: The Sacred Heart men's basketball team opens the 2008-09 season with trip to Worcester to take on the Crusaders of Holy Cross on Friday night at 7:00 pm. The Pioneers will play the first three games of the season on the road, and then settle in for a five-game homestand.

While not technically a "returner" from 2007-08, head coach Dave Bike will have senior captain Joey Henley (Kent, WA) back in the fold. Henley, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA due to two serious injuries sustained while playing football for the Pioneers, is perhaps the most dominant and versatile athlete in Sacred Heart history - he is the first athlete in NEC history to be named All-Conference in two sports (basketball and track) and is fourth all-time at SHU in receptions for football- and would like nothing better than to end his career with the Pioneers' first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Henley enters the year with just under 1000 points and 500 rebounds in his career and was named to the Northeast Conference pre-season All-NEC team. In the eyes of many, he could be the league's player of the year when all is said and done. During the 2006-07 season, he averaged 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while shooting a blistering 57 percent from the floor.

Series: This is the fifth career meeting between these two schools and the series is tied at 2-2. The Pioneers have won the last two meetings - 61-58 on December 30 of last year and 66-61 back on Jan. 31, 2001. The Crusaders won the fi rst two games in the series with a pair of victories at the Hart Center, 55-52 on Jan. 3, 1999, and 63-48 on Jan. 6, 2000.

SHU vs. the Patriot League: This marks the 15th game the Pioneers have played against a Patriot League opponent it is deadlocked at seven wins apiece. SHU is 2-2 against Lehigh, 3-3 against Army and 2-2 against Holy Cross.

Scouting the Opponent: Holy Cross is 64-25 in season openers and this will be the 45th time they started at home. The Crusaders are 38-6 when they open at home. The Crusaders were picked to finish third in the Patriot League preseason poll behind American and Lehigh.

Senior Alex Vander Baan, who missed most of the last third of the season with an injury, will anchor the Crusader front line. He is the top returning scorer are rebounder at 8.5 and 5.7, respectively.

Season Openers: Sacred Heart is 23-20 in season openers, but 1-8 since moving to Division I in 1999. The Pioneers have lost six straight openers, since beating Stony Brook 76-71 to start the 2001-02 season.

Challenging Non-Conference Schedule: The Pioneers have an interesting non-conference slate this season, highlighted by contests against Providence College, Penn State and Boston College. In addition, the Pioneers face Holy Cross from the Patriot League, Albany and Hartford from America East, and Fairfield from the MAAC.

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