It was a good day for former Sacred Heart High School star Raheem Solomon on Saturday.
Solomon, now a graduate student at Sacred Heart University, led the Pioneers with 18 points and added six rebounds in a 91-66 loss to Pitt at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh. Solomon started and played 30 minutes for SHU. He went 5-for-12 from the field, including 2-for-5 from three-point range. Solomon made six of his 10 free throw attempts, and all six of his rebounds came on the defensive end.
SHU actually led Pitt, 18-14, with 10:38 left in the first half after a personal 6-0 run from Solomon. The run began with two jumpers and ended with two free throws. Solomon gave the Pioneers their last lead of the game, 33-32, with two free throws at the 2:57 mark of the first half.
Solomon twice pulled SHU to within two points of Pitt. A 3-pointer from the 6-foot-3 guard made it 38-36 Panthers with 1:10 left in the first half. Two free throws from Solomon cut an SHU deficit to 54-52 at the 14:31 mark of the second half. A Solomon assist on an Aidan Carpenter layup made it 56-54 Panthers with 13:56 to play. Pitt outscored SHU, 35-12, the rest of the way to pull away.
For the season, Solomon is averaging 12.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per game. He has started all 11 games for the Pioneers (5-6). Solomon began his college career at Niagara University.
Photo credit: Sacred Heart University athletics.
