2008 Woodie Awards
Men's basketball holds on for win
Jay Gagliardi
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Sports
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With a women's loss about two hours before, the packed Pitt Center was looking for the men to salvage the much-anticipated day.
In a game where there was absolutely no flow or rhythm, it came down to an individual performance that would help fuel Sacred Heart to a victory.
That performance came from the Pioneer's 6'4 center Joey Henley. Henley scored 19 points and was able to collect eight rebounds to give Sacred Heart an overwhelming advantage in the paint.
Although both teams played sub par basketball in the first half, Sacred Heart went up early thanks to its bench, which outscored the opponent 19-5.
Starting center, Liam Potter got in early foul trouble and had to be used cautiously throughout the first half, but this would turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Sacred Heart.
With Potter on the bench, Coach Bike showed no hesitation in putting Henley in for the majority of the first half. Henley's presence off the bench, along with seven points from freshman Ryan Litke helped balance inconsistent play from the rest of the team.
"We're looking at the center position and saying it doesn't really matter who starts. We are trying to max out at that position. We need both Henley and Potter to play big," said coach Dave Bike.
Things slowed down for Sacred Heart in the first half and Wagner put together a late half Things slowed down for Sacred Heart in the first half and Wagner put together a late half comeback, behind the play of forward Jamal Smith, who quietly emerged as the half's leading scorer. Smith shot 5-7 from the floor with two three pointers.
Sacred Heart had rare struggles from behind the arc in the first half, and was only able to convert two three pointers. It was a different story for Wagner, however as they shot 43 percent from downtown. A stat that usually shows up on SHU's box score.
The first half ended tied up at 38. Sacred Heart had been successful attacking the paint, and Wagner was able take advantage of good three point shooting.
The second half started out in Wagner's favor as three of their players were pushing double figures in the points. Wagner's James Ulrich hit his first four shots of the second half setting a nice pace for the rest of the team to follow.
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