Smith Nets Career High 25 Points, Rudowitz Adds First Career Double-Double With 19 Points And 12 Rebounds As Men's Basketball Uses Second Half Surge To Post 69-56 Northeast-10 Victory At Assumption

December 5, 2006

STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Laska Gymnasium, Worcester, Mass.

FINAL: STONEHILL 69, ASSUMPTION 56

WORCESTER, Mass.-- Sophomore Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Stonehill to a 69-56 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball victory over Assumption Tuesday evening at Laska Gymnasium.

The visiting Skyhawks (4-2, 2-2 Northeast-10) trailed by two (27-25) at the break but opened the second half with a 21-4 run over the first 7:15 of play to take a 15-point cushion at 46-31 on a lay-in by freshman Nikola Stevanovic (Belgrade, Serbia) with 12:45 remaining. The host Greyhounds (2-5, 2-3 Northeast-10) whittled their deficit to six points on a pair of free throws by junior Corey Diethorn (Pittsburgh, Pa.) with 7:36 to play in the contest, but an 11-5 Stonehill spurt capped by a Smith lay-in with 2:55 remaining gave the visitors a 12-point lead at 61-49, as Assumption got no closer than nine points in the final minutes.

Smith, who established his previous career-high of 21 points last February against Assumption at Laska Gymnasium, was one of three players in double figures for Stonehill, as freshman AJ Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.) recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds while senior Lance Clarke (Cambridge, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points. The Skyhawks shot 48 percent from the field, including a 53 percent effort in the final 20 minutes alone, and connected for eight three-pointers to post their fifth straight victory in the series between the two schools dating back to January 2005.

Sophomore Pat Shea (Salem, Mass.) led three players in double figures with 17 points in the setback for Assumption, which also received a double-double effort of 14 points and 11 rebounds from Diethorn. Junior Greg Twomey (Groton, Mass.) added 11 points and seven boards for the Greyhounds, who shot 31 percent from the field overall and canned seven three-pointers. The hosts held a 41-34 rebounding advantage (including 20-10 on the offensive glass) but hurt themselves with 16 turnovers.

Stonehill hosts Saint Rose in a Northeast-10 outing on Thursday evening at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 7:30 p.m., while Assumption entertains Merrimack in a Northeast-10 match-up on Thursday evening at Laska Gymnasium that also begins at 7:30 p.m.