Men's Basketball Looks For Even Dozen Monday Evening As 10th-Ranked Skyhawks Tangle With Saint Anselm In Northeast-10 "Battle Of The Birds" Looking To Continue Best Start In 56 Years

January 15, 2006

2005-2006 Stonehill College Men's Basketball

7:30 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill returns home looking for an even dozen straight victories this evening as the 10th-ranked Skyhawks tangle with the Saint Anselm Hawks in a Northeast-10 Conference clash. Stonehill enters tonight's action after capturing its 11th straight triumph (the second longest such skein in school history) on Saturday afternoon with an 85-66 Northeast-10 victory over Saint Michael's at the Ross Sports Center in Colchester, Vt. Junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) led five players in double figures with 19 points (including three three-pointers) and three assists, while freshman Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) added a career-high 17 points and seven rebounds on a 7-of-11 shooting effort. Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) and junior Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East) each added 12 points for the Skyhawks, who also received 10 points and four assists from senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont./Markham District). Senior co-captain Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco) dished out eight assists on the day for Stonehill, which also received six rebounds each from senior co-captain Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) and freshman Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va./Flint Hill) as the Skyhawks shot an even 50 percent from the field and canned 11 three-pointers in the triumph. Saint Anselm, which received votes in last week's NABC Division II national poll, enters tonight's action having won 10 of its last 11 outings, including an 87-56 Northeast-10 victory over Merrimack on Saturday afternoon at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H.

HONOR ROLL HONOREES: Seniors Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) and Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) were each named last Monday to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll for their efforts in a pair of Stonehill victories on the week week. Taylor averaged 15 points, nine rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists on the week, including a double-double effort of 22 points and 10 rebounds in the 77-63 triumph at Bryant, while Nelson averaged 14 points and six boards on the week, including 15 points and seven caroms at Bryant, and shot an even 50 percent (12-24) from the field in the two outings.

LAST MEETING: Stonehill and Saint Anselm last met on November 30, 2005 at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H., and the Skyhawks rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to post a 65-61 victory over the Hawks. Marquis Taylor led the way for Stonehill with a double-double effort of 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Nick Smith and Mike Lauricella added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the visitors.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and Saint Anselm are meeting for the 94th time this evening, and the Hawks hold a 58-35 advantage over the Skyhawks in the all-time series between the schools.

THE SKYHAWKS: Taylor leads Stonehill in scoring and rebounding at 15.6 ppg and 7.1 caroms per contest, while Nelson follows at 13.7 ppg and adds 6.3 rpg. Clarke is next at 12.7 ppg, while Kraus is also in double figures for the Skyhawks at 11.1 ppg while adding 5.3 assists per game.

THE HAWKS: Senior Jim Moore leads Saint Anselm in scoring at 19 ppg, while senior Matt Cahill follows at 17.5 ppg. Senior Jim Holsworth is next at 11.3 ppg, while senior Darlington Okerulu is next at 10.1 ppg and paces the Hawks on the boards at 8.3 caroms per contest.

HEAD COACH DAVID McLAUGHLIN: David McLaughlin is in his third season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Stonehill College. A 1997 graduate of Colby, McLaughlin has guided the Skyhawks to a 38-21 (.644) mark during his tenure after previously serving as an assistant coach, including Stonehill's first 20-win season in seven years last winter. McLaughlin, who is assisted by Derik Malone, Josh Meyer and Mike Harding, is 2-2 during his career against Saint Anselm.

HEAD COACH KEITH DICKSON: Keith Dickson is in his 20th season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Saint Anselm College. A 1979 graduate of New Hampshire, Dickson has compiled an overall mark of 380-198 (.657) during his tenure with the Hawks, and he is assisted by Thomas Joyce, Steve Drescher and Paul Faison. Dickson is 28-13 during his career against Stonehill.

BEST SINCE THE BEGINNING: Stonehill's 13-1 start marks the first time that the Skyhawks have won 13 of their first 14 outings in 56 years, as the first ever Stonehill squad also turned that trick under Head Coach George Sullivan during the 1949-50 season en route to a 15-1 mark.

BEST IN A GENERATION: Stonehill's 9-1 start in Northeast-10 play is its best in nearly 25 years, as the Skyhawks last won nine conference outings out of the blocks during the 1981-82 campaign under another Stonehill Hall of Famer, the late Tom Folliard.

THEY CALL IT THE STREAK: Stonehill's current 11-game winning streak is the second longest such skein in school history, topped only by a 12-game streak that came during the 1970-71 season. The Skyhawks have posted an 11-game win streak and an eight-game win skein under David McLaughlin's guidance in the last calendar year alone.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: In conference statistics released through games of January 9th, Stonehill leads the Northeast-10 in both scoring defense (62.4) and field goal percentage defense (.384), and the Skyhawks also lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.28) and defensive rebounds (28.25 drpg). Stonehill also ranks second in scoring margin (+10.3) and assists (17.17 apg). Individually, senior co-captain Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco) leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio for the second straight season (2.50), while Marquis Tayulor ranks second in defensive rebounds (6.25 drpg).

NCAA RANK AND FILE: Stonehill is rated in three team categories in NCAA Division II national statistics through games of January 3rd. The Skyhawks are tied for 12th in won-lost percentage, 24th in field goals percentage defense and 37th in scoring defense, and individually Chris Kraus ranks 23th nationally in assists per game.

RANK AND FILE: Stonehill cracked the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 for the first time in over eight years on December 20th, but this week the Skyhawks cracked the top 10 for the first time in school history in moving up to the #10 spot in the NABC rankings on Tuesday afternoon. Prior to December 20th, the last time Stonehill appeared in the NABC Top 25 came in March 1998 during the Skyhawks' NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" campaign. Here is the January 10th NABC Division II national poll:

RankSchool (first place votes)RecordPointsPrevious Rank

1Montevallo (7)14-11922

2Western Washington 11-11913

3Southern Indiana16-11855

4Seattle Pacific(1)11-11736

5Saint Joseph's13-11544

6Northern State12-114821

7Southwest Baptist14-11417

8Virginia Union8-21401

9Fort Hays State12-113515

10Stonehill11-111624

11Findlay12-210225

12West Virginia State10-29310

13Alabama-Huntsville12-29020

13tBarton8-190NR

15Delta State11-183NR

16Truman State13-27373

17Central Missouri State13-25811

18Johnson C. Smith9-350NR

19Grand Canyon12-346NR

20Massachusetts-Lowell11-345NR

21Mount Olive9-3409

22Minnesota State-Mankato13-333NR

23Winona State10-42914

24Grand Valley State11-327NR

25Ashland12-325NR

Others Receiving Votes: Lynn 19, Pittsburgh-Johnstown 18, Alderson-Broaddus 13, Catawba 12, South Carolina Upstate 11, West Georgia 10, Armstrong Atlantic State 9, Bowie State 8, Northeastern State 7, Saint Anselm 6, Hawaii-Hilo 5, West Liberty State 5, Montana State-Billings 3, Tarleton State 3, Presbyterian 2, Concordia-St. Paul 1, Philadelphia 1.

IN GOOD COMPANY: Stonehill has the distinction of being one of two schools nationally to have both its men's and women's basketball teams ranked in the top 11 nationally in Division II, as the Skyhawk women moved up six spots in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll to the #11 spot last Tuesday afternoon. Stonehill and Western Washington are the only two Division II schools that can claim both its women's and men's teams in the top 11.

MORE RANK AND FILE: Five Stonehill athletic teams have now cracked the top 11 in their respective sports during the 2005-2006 academic year: Field Hockey (#4), Men's Cross Country (#9), Men's Basketball (#10) and Women's Basketball (#11). The defending national champion Skyhawk women's lacrosse team has been picked as the top-ranked team in Division II circles as well in the Lacrosse Magazine pre-season poll.

BIG D-MAC ATTACK: After winning just 14 games in a two-and-a-half year stretch, Stonehill has posted a 33-9 (.786) mark in its last 40 contests under David McLaughlin's tutelage dating back to November 2004.

A GRAND ENTRANCE: Marquis Taylor became the 30th player in Stonehill men's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career point plateau with a 15-point performance in the Skyhawks' 82-64 win over Assumption last Tuesday night. Dezmond Morgan was the last Skyhawk to reach that plateau, as he did so last season ironically in a January match-up with Assumption. Here are the members of Stonehill's 1,000 Point Club:

1.Mike Allocco2,3991969-73

2.Jon Cronin2,3011988-92

3.Bob Reitz2,2181979-83

4.Bill Zolga1,8221977-80

5.Mike Barros1,6791984-88

6.George Peterson1,6041964-67

7.David Donnelly1,4981995-99

8.Ed Grzembski1,4861987-91

9.Brian Cronin1,4741985-89

10.Dick Munson1,4481962-65

11.Leo Denault1,3981958-61

12.Paul Sincero1,3681950-53

13.Chris Butler1,3621991-95

14.Ron Richards1,3021965-68

15.Bob Duarte1,2791983-87

16.Tony Fiore1,2551981-85

17.Jason Jacobsen1,2271988-92

18.Kyle Quimby1,1851999-03

19.Art Horan1,1211968-71

20.Dezmond Morgan1,1192001-05

21.Derrik Jerman1,098 1989-93

22.Henry Jackson1,0901970-73

23.Jamal Gomes1,0821991-95

24.Howie Bain1,0631971-74

25.Lorenzo Lapido1,0611990-94

26.Adrian Machado1,0431992-96

27.Rollie Hollins1,0211971-74

28.MARQUIS TAYLOR1,0142002-06

29.Charlie Simonds1,0111973-77

30.Justin LoVerme1,0071997-01

AYE, AYE CAPTAINS: Seniors Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco) and Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) have been named as co-captains for the 2005-2006 edition of Stonehill men's basketball. Lauricella, who also served as a Skyhawk captain last season, averaged 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds off the bench last season, while Nelson added 5.6 points and 3.4 caroms per contest in a reserve role as well last winter for Stonehill.

SKYHAWK TALK: Stonehill has won six straight in the series with Saint Michael's dating back to January 2003Clarke hit the 20-point plateau in a game for the second time this season in last Tuesday's triumph over Assumption, as he matched his career-high set on opening night (November 18th) against MolloyThe January 7th victory was Stonehill's 36th in 60 series meetings with 2005 NCAA national runner-up Bryant, as the Skyhawks have swept the last two regular season series match-ups (four contests) from the Bulldogs The Skyhawks have assisted on over two-thirds of their field goals on the season, notching 247 assists on 368 field goals through 13 gamesThe Skyhawks have led at the half in 13 of their 14 outings to date Prior to last season, Stonehill's last 20-win campaign came in 1997-98 when the Skyhawks won the Northeast-10 regular season crown en route to a berth in the NCAA Division II "Sweet Sixteen" The Skyhawks have eclipsed the 80-point plateau on 20 occasions in McLaughlin's 59-game tenure as head coach.

SKYHAWKS ON THE WEB: For the second straight season, Stonehill basketball can be accessed on the world wide web through Free Teamline, a service of TRZ Sports of Kent, Ohio. A total of 15 Skyhawk regular season men's basketball broadcasts will be available throughout the 2005-2006 season via Free Teamline by accessing the official Stonehill Athletics website at www.stonehillskyhawks.com, powered by Presto Sports. Returning to call all of action of Stonehill basketball once again this winter is the tandem of Charlie Bergeron and Brian Buckley, who have served as the voices of Skyhawk Basketball since 1998.

WHO'S NEXT: Stonehill heads to Syracuse, N.Y. on Thursday, January 19th to take on LeMoyne in a Northeast-10 outing at Ted Grant Court that tips-off at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Skyhawks return home on Saturday, January 21st to host Merrimack in a Northeast-10 clash here at Merkert Gymnasium that begins at 3:30 p.m. EST.