Hassan Scores 30 PointsTo Lead Sacred Heart To Win Over Yale

FAIRFIElD, Conn. – Corey Hassan scored a team-high 30 points, including 22 in the first half, to lift the Sacred Heart men’s basketball team to a 92-86 win over Yale University in the first game of the Connecticut 6 Classic.

The Pioneers never trailed in the game, but did find itself in a 4-4 tie in the opening two minutes of the game. Sacred Heart scored the next five points on a three-point shot by Chauncey Hardy and a jumper by Hassan for a 9-4 lead. That advantage quickly grew to 12 points at 20-8 after Mehmet Sahan scored off a dunk with 15:08 left in the half.

After falling behind by 21 points at 35-14 with 7:27 left on the clock, Yale put together a 17-4 run over the next three-plus minutes to cut the deficit to eight points at 39-31. The Bulldogs hit three three-point baskets during the run, two coming from Alex Zampier. He would score 10 of the 17 points during that stretch.

The Pioneers regained its double digit lead in the final minutes of the half and went on to take a 52-39 advantage at intermission. Sacred Heart still held that 13 point lead eight minutes into the second half at 72-59, but Yale would come back to pull within three points with a 12-2 spurt over the next two minutes, making the score 74-71. Rhett Anderson had a three-point play late in the run.

The Bulldogs hung closely with the Pioneers, trailing by just four points with four minutes to go. However, Sacred Heart pushed the lead back to double figures with a minute remaining after a put-back basket by Sahan.

Zampier netted 23 second-half points to keep Yale close through most of the second half, and finished the game with a team-high 35 points.