FAIRFIELD, CONN. – Despite having a 15-point second half lead, the Bryant University men's basketball team fell at Sacred Heart, 84-75, in overtime Saturday evening at the William H. Pitt Center.

The Pioneers (11-14, 5-7 Northeast Conference) outscored the Bulldogs (11-12, 8-4 NEC) 52-29 in the final 25 minutes of play to finish the season sweep and keep their NEC Tournament hopes very alive.

Senior guard Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.) led all scorers with a season-high 26 points (21 in the first half), while sophomore big man Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) notched his fourth double-double of the year finishing with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Junior point guard Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappen, N.J.) added 12 points, seven boards and six assists, while red-shirt freshman Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) chipped in 15 points and four boards.

Sacred Heart's Jordan Allen poured in a career-high 24 points off the bench with Cane Broome adding 17 points and Evan Kelley finishing with 16.

A Garvin And-1 at the 7:36 mark granted the Black and Gold their largest lead of the game, 28-18, as 57 percent shooting and strong defending helped the visitors control the first 12+ minutes of action. The sharp shooting continued for the Bulldogs through the end of the half as 21 points from Starks, and a 15-8 run to end the period, helped lift Bryant to a 46-32 lead heading into the locker room.

Starks led all scorers at the break with 21 points, including 5-of-10 from deep, while Garvin added nine points and seven boards to pace the Bulldogs. Broom led the Pioneers with 13 points and Allen chipped in nine off the bench.

The Pioneers came out of the locker room with much more energy than they ended the first half with, cutting the margin to single digits, 47-38, at the 17:18 mark, but back-to-back buckets from Kostur quickly boosted the Bryant lead back up to 13.

The Pioneers kept fighting but balanced offensive efficiency from the Bulldogs kept the margin comfortably at double digits, 62-47, through the 10-minute mark.

An Allen steal and finish brought the hosts within single digits, 62-53, for just the third time in the second half at the 8:22 mark but, a pair of Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt.) free throws pushed Bryant back up 11. Four-straight points from Allen and a Phil Gaetano 3 shrunk the gap the just four, 66-62, with 4:13 remaining in the contest.

After a Kostur free throw, back-to-back buckets from Allen made is a one-point game, 67-66, with just 2:03 left on the clock. After a Bryant turnover, Sacred Heart took its first lead of the contest since the opening minutes, 68-67, on a Kelley tip in at the 1:30 mark.

After a defensive stop, Starks nailed a beautiful turnaround 12 footer to put the Black and Gold back in front, 69-68. Another strong defensive possession resulted in a pair of McLaughlin free throws as the junior point guard put his team up 71-68 with 12 ticks left.

On the subsequent possession, Gaetano wasted little time bringing the ball up the floor as the senior buried a deep trifecta to knot the score, 71-71, with five seconds left. On Bryant's final possession of regulation, Starks had a decent look from the corner that came up just short, pushing the contest to overtime.

In OT, a Steven Glowiak And-1 and a Kelley backdoor bucket put the hosts up four, 77-73, with just under three minutes to play. A pair of Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt.) freebies cut the margin to just two but another Pioneer And-1 pushed the gap to five, 80-75, with only 90 seconds left. Bryant failed to find the bottom of the net for the remainder of the extra period, sealing the 84-75 victory for the Pioneers.

Looking ahead, the Bulldogs will look to stay atop the NEC standings when they head to Teaneck, N.J., for a showdown with Fairleigh Dickinson, Thursday night at 7 p.m.