Fairfield,
Conn. (December 4, 2008)Mount
St. Mary's saw an 11-point second-half lead evaporate as Sacred
Heart rallied for an 80-75 win on Thursday night in the Northeast
Conference opener for both teams. The game was a rematch of last
year's NEC title game won by the Mount, 68-55.
The
Mount opened the second half by scoring six straight points to grab
a 47-36 advantage with 17:31 left in the game. The Pioneers (2-3, 1-0 NEC) then
rattled off a 28-to-7 run over the next 10 minutes for a 64-54 lead
with 7:24 remaining in the game. The Pioneers capped the run by hitting
five straight three-point baskets. The middle of the run featured 13
straight Sacred Heart points, including a pair of three-pointers by
Ryon Howard.
The
Mount (3-3, 0-1 NEC) was able to whittle the lead to 73-69 with 56
seconds left and possession of the ball, but turned the ball over
on the next possession.
Sacred Heart hit their free throws from there to seal the
win.
Howard
scored 20 points to pace Sacred Heart in the game while Mehmet
Sahan added 14 points and six boards in the victory. Corey Hassan and Shane Gibson each had
12 points in the win.
Jean
Cajou scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Mount while Kelly
Beidler and Jeremy Goode chipped in 13 and 10 points,
respectively. Goode, who
entered the game averaging 22.0 points per game, was held to
1-of-14 shooting in the contest.
Sacred
Heart shot 52.6 percent from the field in the game, hitting 9-of-18
(.500) from three-point range. The Mount was held to 32.3 percent
shooting in the second half and finished the contest 24-of-56
(.429) from the field.
In
the first half, the Mount made its first six shots to grab a 19-11
lead at the 13:47 mark. The
Mount extended the lead to 33-23 after a pair of Beidler
three-pointers, but Sacred Heart answered with seven straight
points to cut margin to 33-30. The Mount, however, was able to take a
41-36 lead at the half.
Cajou
paced the Mount with seven points in the half while five other
players each netted six.
Gibson tallied 10 first-half points for the Pioneers. The Mount shot 56.0 percent from the
field in the opening half, hitting 4-of-5 (80.0 percent) from
three-point range. Sacred
Heart converted 51.7 percent of its field goals in the first
half.
Mount
St. Mary's returns to action on Saturday, December 6, with a 2:00
p.m. game at NEC rival Central Connecticut State.
Game
Notes...The
Mount now holds an 1107 lead in the all-time series...Mount St.
Mary's has now and is 9-11 all-time in NEC openers, including a
2-10 mark on the road.