Fairfield, Conn. (February 26, 2022)—Mount St. Mary's fell to hot-shooting Sacred Heart, 77-65, on Thursday night at the William H. Pitt Center.  The Pioneers shot 64 percent from the field in the second half to pull away for the win.  Nana Opoku led four Mountaineers in double figures with 12 points in the game. 

Despite tonight's loss, the Mount has clinched the No. 4 seed and the accompanying home game in the upcoming Northeast Conference Tournament.    The Mount will host No. 5 seed St. Francis Brooklyn on Wednesday, March 2, at Knott Arena for the NEC Quarterfinals.  It will be the Mount's first home NEC playoff game since hosting the NEC Quarterfinals in 2018.

Leading 33-31 at the half, the Mount (12-15, 8-9 NEC) saw Sacred Heart open the second half with a 15-to-4 run to take a nine-point advantage with 14:36 remaining.  The Mountaineers rallied, pulling within two, 52-50, on a Deandre Thomas bucket with just over nine minutes on the clock,.  Sacred Heart (9-19, 5-12 NEC) responded with the next five points, and took a double-digit advantage on a Tyler Thomas step back jumper with 6:23 left. 

The Mountaineers made a final push, cutting the deficit to 71-65 on an Opoku bucket with 44 seconds left.  Opoku was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw attempt.  The Mount grabbed the offensive rebound and had a pair of three-point attempts, but could not convert, and SHU was able to salt the game away from there.

The Mountaineers shot 43.3 percent (29-of-67) from the field in the game, but were just 4-of-25 (.160) from three-point range.  Sacred Heart shot 50.9 percent (28-of-55) in the game, including 64.0 percent (16-of-25) in the second half.  The Pioneers were 9-of-19 (.474) from three-point range in the game.

After Sacred Heart took its first lead of the game at 15-14 eight minutes into the contest, the Mount rattled off a 13-to-2 run to grab its biggest advantage, 27-17, with just under six minutes left in the opening half.  Five different players scored in the run that was capped by a Jalen Benjamin bucket.  Sacred Heart was able to get back into the game by closing the half on a 14-to-6 run to make it a 33-31 game at the break.

Opoku led the Mount with 12 points while adding two blocks and two steals.  Mezie Offurum, Benjamin and Thomas each added 11 points for the Mountaineers with Offurum pulling down a team-high seven rebounds.

Aaron Clarke led all scorers with 21 points for Sacred Heart with Nico Galette added 17 points and five rebounds.  Tyler Thomas chipped in 14 points and Alex Watson 10 in the victory.
The Mount closes out the regular season on Saturday, February 26, with a 1:00 p.m. matchup at Central Connecticut.

PLAYOFF TICKETS ON SALE:  Season ticket holders can purchase tickets for the NEC Quarterfinal home game beginning tomorrow morning (Friday, February 25) at 10:00 a.m. by calling the Mount Ticket Office at 301-447-5700.  Playoffs tickets for the general public will go on sale Monday, February 28, at 10:00 a.m.  Ticket prices for the NEC Tournament will be as follows:  General Admission Youth $5, General Admission Adult $10, Section 5 Reserved Seats $12, Blue Chair Back Seats $15, and Courtside Seats $25.