Clarke, Toun Combine For 30 Points In Final Career Appearances As Seventh-Seeded Men's Basketball Sees Season Come To End With 61-54 Setback To 10th-Seeded LeMoyne In First Round Of Northeast-10 Championships

February 24, 2007

STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL

First Round – 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Championships

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL: LE MOYNE 61, STONEHILL 54

EASTON, Mass.-- Junior Jonathan Joshua (Inglewood, Calif.) notched a double-double effort of 23 points and 10 rebounds to lift 10th-seeded LeMoyne to a 61-54 victory over seventh-seeded Stonehill in first round play of the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championships Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.

The visiting Dolphins, who improve to 14-14 on the season, advance to Monday's Northeast-10 quarterfinal round to take on second-seeded Pace in Pleasantville, N.Y. beginning at 7:00 p.m.

With the game tied at 49-49, Joshua canned his sixth three-pointer of the afternoon with 3:07 remaining to give LeMoyne the lead for good, as the Dolphins extended that margin to seven (56-49) on a lay-in by freshman Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) as well as a pair of Joshua free throws with 41 seconds remaining. A three-pointer by senior Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I.) on the ensuing possession enabled the host Skyhawks, who finish the year at 16-12, to close back to within four, and after a Joshua free throw gave the visitors a five-point lead, a lay-in by senior Lance Clarke (Cambridge, Mass.) with 23 seconds remaining allowed Stonehill to creep back to within three at 57-54. Senior Matt Cooper's (Fulton, N.Y.) two free throws extended the Dolphin edge to five once again, and Joshua iced LeMoyne's triumph with two more free throws that came with 12 seconds remaining to account for the final score.

The two teams played to a 23-23 tie at the break before the Dolphins opened up a seven-point cushion (36-29) with 14:12 remaining in the contest, and LeMoyne held a six-point lead before a pair of Toun three-pointers enabled Stonehill to forge a 38-38 tie with 11:32 to play. The visitors used an 8-3 run to take a 46-41 edge with 7:50 remaining on a Joshua three-pointer, but the Skyhawks responded by scoring eight of the game's next 10 points, tying the game on a Toun jumper with 3:28 remaining to set up the decisive Dolphin run in the closing minutes.

Ekperigin joined Joshua with a double-double effort of 19 points and 10 rebounds in the win for LeMoyne, which also received 12 points and nine boards from Cooper. Junior Mark Covin (Culver City, Calif.) added seven assists and grabbed six rebounds for the Dolphins, who shot 46 percent from the field and connected for seven three-pointers while holding a 44-31 rebounding edge on the afternoon.

Clarke closed out his career with a team-high 16 points and five rebounds for Stonehill, while Toun netted all 14 of his points in the second half, hitting for four three-pointers in the process. Sophomore Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.) added eight points and six boards for the Skyhawks, who also received nine assists from freshman Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.) as the hosts shot 33 percent overall and connected for 10 three-pointers on the day.