Sacred Heart Drops Second Straight to Mount St. Mary's, Now 6-4 in NEC

You know the old basketball coach saying: "When you allow your opponents to shoot 63% from the floor, commit nine turnovers, lose the battle on the boards by eight, and permit the opposing team's top scorer to net 23 points in the first half, then you probably gosh darnit dug yourself an insurmountable hole to climb out of."

OK, no one probably ever said that, but that quote was running through my mind as I witnessed the best half of Jamion Christian's tenure as the Mount St. Mary's coach, and perhaps the worst half of Sacred Heart's conference season. It just was one of those halves. Mount St. Mary's Rashad Whack was unconscious in the first stanza, draining all five of his three-point attempts en route to 23 first half points. If you just include Whack, SHU possessed a tidy 27-23 lead at the half!

Unfortunately for the Pioneers, eight other Mountaineers scored the basketball in the first half, which ballooned the Mount's advantage to 23 points. That, my friends, is a really difficult hole to climb out off.

"They took it to us and didn't miss. We didn't guard them and they had - I would venture to say it - one of their better halves," said a disappointed Dave Bike after the game. "I told the guys, for us to be any good, we have to be on all cylinders or close to it."

For Mount St. Mary's coach Jamion Christian, the first half was the type of basketball the 30 year old coach had dreamed of since taking the job this past offseason. Drain threes, force turnovers, and have their opponent back on their heels with a frenetic tempo. It was Mount Mayhem personified.

"Every now and again, you get a chance to see a glimpse of how good we can be offensively, because we have a lot of different guys that can play a lot of positions and score the ball," said Christian. "I thought the key of the game today in the first half is we played very unselfishly. Really shared the ball well and that's what I'm most proud of my team in sharing the ball. That's big." 

Sacred Heart, as awful as that perimeter defense was in the first half, came out with their usual fight in the second half. After blowing several opportunities to cut the Mount's deficit to single digits, SHU finally broke through after two made free throws by Shane Gibson. The problem was there was less than two minutes left in the game, and by then KenPom's probability odds of coming back had essentially evaporated away.

It's been a storyline all too familiar for SHU; in fact, today was the ninth time in 21 games where Sacred Heart fell behind by at least double digits, only to furiously come back and cut the deficit to less than ten, and at least give themselves a chance at pulling out the upset. Remarkably, the cardiac Pioneers have won four of those games in which they dug themselves a brutal hole (Yale, Stony Brook, St. Francis Brooklyn, Monmouth), but that certainly isn't the way a supposed NEC contender should play throughout the season.

"I think we have the spunk," said SHU head coach Dave Bike. "We just have to play better."

Offensively, the Pioneers played pretty well, especially in the second half. Louis Montes has his seventh double digit effort of the NEC season with a team high 21 points. Freshman forward De'Aires Tate once again played 20+ minutes and made the most of it, having the best game of his young career with 14 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks (all are career highs). Steve Glowiak had another solid effort with 11 points (3 of 6 from behind the arc) and currently leads the team with 31 steals this season. The guard from hard hitting New Britain has helped the Pioneers off the ball in his sophomore campaign, which was something I complained about last season as he was morphing into an insufferable ball-chucker.

And finally, Shane Gibson may have had an off night shooting the basketball (6-15 from the floor), but one of the best players of the NEC had 18 points, a season high six assists, six rebounds, and three steals. Still, if the opposing team is able to lock down Gibson from behind the arc (only 1 of 5), it makes things much more difficult for Dave Bike's squad.

"Rashad [Whack] did a great job (guarding Gibson)," said Christian. "Any time you're playing against a great player, you know he's going to hit some tough shots, you know he's going to make some. We really put the emphasis on whoever was guarding Gibson tonight. Whack did an unbelievable job just taking away shots and making him shoot twos."

Whack did have himself an unbelievable game, scoring a career high 35 points on 16 shots, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out three assists, and fighting hard through the off-the-ball screens to remain in Gibson's face all night. It was pretty darn close to the NEC single game performance of the season, in my opinion.

Mount St. Mary's freshman point guard Shivaugn Wiggins had 13 points and six assists in a season high 32 minutes. It's unknown whether his excellent play of late has begun to phase out junior guard Josh Castenallos, who only played five minutes Saturday night. Castellanos has been dealing with injuries throughout the season. The win moves Mount St. Mary's into ninth place in the conference with a record of 4-6.

Despite the two game losing streak, SHU find themselves in decent position, now tied for third place with a record of 6-4 in the NEC. They have a very good top four of Gibson, Montes, Glowiak, and Phil Gaetano, but with all of the injuries and youth in the front court, the depth remains the biggest issue for this team. It was evident in the past two games. Without ball handlers and perimeter defenders Chris Evans and Evan Kelley, this team will struggle against pressure defenses like Wagner and Mount St. Mary's, hence the 43 turnovers committed in the past two games.

Whether or not the team can overcome their shortened bench remains the biggest question, but at the very least, the cardiac kids in the red and white have made this conference season interesting to watch. And after witnessing the past few mediocre seasons, it's fun to see SHU have a chance to make some noise.

Ryan Peters covers Sacred Heart men's basketball for Pioneer Pride and Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

Louis Montes Emerging as a Reliable Second Option for Sacred Heart

After looking a bit tired and lethargic during their home game versus Monmouth, Sacred Heart began to make their comeback, thanks to Shane Gibson. The All-NEC performer scored 19 straight points – eleven of them from the charity stripe - in the second half to quickly erase a double digit Monmouth lead.

Soon thereafter, Monmouth head coach King Rice did everything he could to possibly end Gibson’s remarkable run. With his team leading 68-67 and about four minutes left on the clock, the Hawks wisely doubled Gibson near the top of the key. Gibson skipped a pass left to Phil Gaetano, who then quickly pushed the ball to a wide open Louis Montes sitting behind the three-point line. 

Said Rice after the game, “I kind of wanted Montes to take that shot.”

Montes, despite shooting an uncharacteristic 15.4% from three-point land (on only 26 attempts) for the season, did take the shot. And he swished it, much to the delight of the 1,614 fans present at the Pitt Center.

Then after getting a defensive stop, there was Gaetano again feeding an open Montes left of the rim. As the junior was hacked on his way up for the lay-up, he slightly adjusted midair and finished the play. He made the ensuing free throw to give the Pioneers a 73-68 advantage. It was a lead they would not relinquish.

“I like when [Montes] makes the threes the old fashion way,” said Sacred Heart head coach Dave Bike after the game. “I think that’s so important.”

Montes finished with 25 points – nine of them in the final 4:04 – to help lead Sacred Heart to an improbable 6-2 start in the conference, giving them a share of the first place lead along with Robert Morris and Bryant. 

Given the team’s 2-9 record after 11 non-conference games, the notion of Sacred Heart challenging for a NEC crown would have been construed as far-fetched. In the offseason, however, the Pioneers were a somewhat trendy pick to crack the NEC top five, especially when factoring in the return of Montes, power forward Justin Swidowski, and guards Evan Kelley and Chris Evans. A more consistent effort out of those four behind Gibson could elevate Sacred Heart from a middle of the pack NEC team to a legitimate league contender.

The problem is, as you all know by now, Montes is the only player of the aforementioned group who has avoided the trainer’s table this season. Kelley and Evans are out for the season with knee injuries, while Swidowski has missed the past four games with a dislocated shoulder.

“I knew Chris [Evans] maybe was still going to be out and we share the ‘3’ spot, so I was working out just to make sure if he doesn’t come back, then I was going to be ready,” said Montes. “Then when Evan [Kelley] went out, it made me work even harder.”

Montes spent the majority of his offseason working out at least two times per day with Gaetano, in order to hone his ball-handling and perimeter skills. As a 6’4” forward who can play the “3” or “4” on an injury depleted roster, Montes’ versatility is even more valuable these days.

"I'll do whichever one I can," said Montes when asked if he prefers the perimeter or post. "They'll put a big man on me at the '4,' and that's when I know I can take him out. Or if they put a small guy on me, that's when I know I can post them up. Obviously, I'm pretty versatile with that."

The extra work done this offseason has paid off. To date, Montes finds himself in the top 15 of the NEC in points (14.0) and rebounds (6.6) per game and has demonstrated more consistency on a game-to-game basis. Montes has broken the ten points, five rebounds threshold 11 times this season. Last year he only achieved the goal in nine games.

“I just didn’t want to have a bad year like last year,” said Montes. “I mean I had spurts of good games, but obviously I wasn’t in as good of shape as I am now.”

Dave Bike agrees. “[Louis] came in better physical condition and his motor’s better. He realized there's a direct correlation in the condition he’s in and his performance.”

In a way, the Pioneers will only go as far as Gibson and Montes (who are roommates by the way) will take them. Without significant production from either of them on a game by game basis, the Pioneers will likely struggle to add to their already surprising NEC win total. 

Ryan Peters covers Sacred Heart men's basketball for Pioneer Pride and Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride

Bobby Valentine a Candidate For Sacred Heart AD?

I officially heard it all regarding Sacred Heart athletics. Today, Bill Paxton of the Connecticut Post reported that former New York Mets and Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is a candidate to replace the retiring and beloved Don Cook as Sacred Heart athletic director.



There is no word if Art Howe or Dallas Green has any interest in the job.



In all seriousness, my initial emotion upon hearing the news was: “Wow, maybe I could meet him. Awesome!” (I’m a simple guy with a simple mind after all.) After further thought and filtering out my emotion as a lifelong and long suffering Mets and Bobby V fan, I began to wonder why exactly the best manager in recent Mets history would be qualified as an athletic director. I know he invented the sandwich wrap, but what exactly does he know about college athletics, budgets, and finding the right wrestling, fencing, or basketball coach?

I went back to relive the Bobby V history and thanks to Defiantly Dutch’s tweets, I fondly recall the Bobby V that tirelessly fundraised and volunteered to help those in need after 9/11. The hard work and exhaustive commitment he displayed as the manager of the Mets at the time to those families in need made me proud to be a Mets fan. Really, it’s so easy to forget those days after the recent one year debacle Bobby V went through up in Boston. If only he didn’t decide to pick on poor Mike Aviles after three days of training camp…



So, could Bobby V as an athletic director raise money for the university? Sure, why not. Could he given his determined work ethic and hands-on approach quickly adapt to the rigors of managing a Division I college athletic department? It seems likely. When you think about it, the Sacred Heart hierarchy certainly knows what they’re doing, thus I’m more likely to trust their original intuition that Bobby V is a worthy candidate for the job. Who am I to say he’d be an awful hire?

Before we get ahead of ourselves, however, please note that there are many more candidates for the athletic director position. Valentine is clearly the most notable of the group highlighted by Paxton, but that doesn’t make him the favorite to land the gig. Sacred Heart President John Petillo and his ties to Seton Hall University shouldn’t be ignored, as there appears to be plenty of candidates working in South Orange, NJ.

I’d like to see what you, the Sacred Heart and NEC fans think. Do you feel Bobby V would be a good hire? Please let me know in the poll above and if you’d like to elaborate further, feel free to do so in the comments section.

Until next time…

Ryan Peters covers Sacred Heart men’s basketball for Pioneer Pride and Big Apple Buckets. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @pioneer_pride