Smith Scores 24 Points And Grabs Eight Rebounds, Hall And Rudowitz Combine For 22 Points As Men's Basketball Drops 74-69 Northeast-10 Decision To LeMoyne

February 3, 2007

STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL: LE MOYNE 74, STONEHILL 69

EASTON, Mass.-- Freshman Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead four players in double figures as LeMoyne notched a 74-69 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball victory over Stonehill Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.

The visiting Dolphins (11-11, 8-9) jumped out to a 28-25 edge at the break before the host Skyhawks (13-9, 8-9 Northeast-10) scored 11 of the first 17 points after intermission to take a 36-34 advantage with 14:26 remaining. LeMoyne responded with a pair of 8-2 runs over the next five-plus minutes of action to take a 10-point cushion at 50-40 on an Ekperigin dunk with 8:31 to play, and the visitors maintained no less than a seven point lead into the final 3:22 of action before Stonehill crept back to within three points on a pair of occasions in the final minute of action. The Dolphins hit 10 of 11 free throws, however, in the final 54 seconds of play, including five by senior Matt Cooper (Fulton, N.Y.) and four by junior Jonathan Joshua (Inglewood, Calif.), to ice their triumph.

Cooper added 15 points and eight rebounds in the win for LeMoyne, which also received 14 points, four assists and three steals from junior Matt Vassil (Dalton, Pa.). Joshua added 10 points for the Dolphins, who also received eight points and seven assists from junior Mark Covin (Culver City, Calif.). LeMoyne shot 48 percent from the field and held a slim 33-32 rebounding edge while converting 17 Skyhawk turnovers into 16 points on the afternoon.

Sophomore Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) led all scorers with 24 points and eight rebounds in the setback for Stonehill, which also received 12 points from sophomore Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.) as well as 10 points and six boards from freshman AJ Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.). Freshman Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.) added nine points and four assists for the Skyhawks, who shot 45 percent from the field and canned nine three-pointers but were outscored by a 21-10 margin from the foul line.

Stonehill heads to Lowell, Mass. on Tuesday evening to take on UMass Lowell in a Northeast-10 match-up that tips-off at 7:30 p.m., while LeMoyne heads to Pleasantville, N.Y. on Wednesday evening to square off with Pace in a Northeast-10 outing that also begins at 7:30 p.m.