Acker leads LIU against Sacred Heart after 23-point showing

Long Island Sharks (3-11, 2-0 NEC) at Sacred Heart Pioneers (7-10, 1-1 NEC)

Fairfield, Connecticut; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: LIU takes on the Sacred Heart Pioneers after Eric Acker scored 23 points in LIU's 73-68 victory against the Stonehill Skyhawks.

The Pioneers have gone 5-3 in home games. Sacred Heart is 4-5 against opponents over .500.

The Sharks have gone 2-0 against NEC opponents. LIU averages 14.4 turnovers per game and is 0-4 when turning the ball over less than opponents.

Sacred Heart averages 72.3 points per game, 6.6 fewer points than the 78.9 LIU allows. LIU averages 5.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.1 fewer made shots on average than the 8.6 per game Sacred Heart gives up.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nico Galette is averaging 14.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals for the Pioneers. Alex Sobel is averaging 12.1 points over the last 10 games for Sacred Heart.

Tana Kopa is shooting 28.0% from beyond the arc with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Sharks, while averaging 9.6 points. Tai Strickland is shooting 42.7% and averaging 15.9 points over the past 10 games for LIU.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pioneers: 3-7, averaging 67.9 points, 29.7 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 8.9 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.2 points per game.

Sharks: 3-7, averaging 65.1 points, 34.2 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 7.2 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 41.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.0 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.