|
|
A.J. Rudowitz's three-point play late in the second half was a key moment in the Skyhawks' 63-54 win over Bryant on Tuesday night. |
North Easton, Mass. - Sophomore guard Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) scored a game-high 16 points to lift host Stonehill to a 63-54 victory over Bryant in a crucial Northeast-10 matchup Tuesday night at Merkert Gymnasium.
The win for the Skyhawks snaps the Bulldogs four-game winning streak but more importantly gives Stonehill the inside track on the fourth seed for the upcoming Northeast-10 Tournament. The Skyhawks entered the night a half game behind the Bulldogs, now find themselves a half game ahead. The top four teams in the final regular season Conference standings get a bye in the first round and are guaranteed at least one home game.
After taking an early 12-5 lead, Stonehill saw itself trailing 19-18 with less than four minutes to play in the opening half.
Led by Stallworth, the Skyhawks closed the half on an 11-2 run that was capped by a buzzer-beating halfcourt prayer from Stallworth, giving Stonehill a 30-21 lead at the break.
Twice in the second half, the Skyhawks looked like they would pull away, but Bryant answered back, despite shooting just 34 percent from the floor for the game.
A top of the key three from freshman Vince Rosario (Perth Amboy, N.J./Cardinal McCarrick) gave Stonehill a 51-43 lead, but the Bulldogs trimmed the lead to 51-50, courtesy of Jon Ezeokoli, who scored nine of his 13 points in the second half.
Neither team would score over the next two plus minutes until sophomore A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe) converted an inside basket to up the Stonehill lead to 53-50.
A free throw from Cecil Gresham finally broke the Bulldog scoring drought, but Rudowitz answered with a three-point play, finishing an acrobatic interior score to give the Skyhawks a 56-51 bulge.
After Peter Lambert drained his fifth triple of the game for the visitors, junior Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass./Central) nailed a fade-away triple from the top of the circle with the shot clock winding down that ended any hopes of a Bryant comeback.
Stallworth added six rebounds and four assists to his totals, while Rudowitz tallied 13 points and a game-high seven boards. Rosario and Hall each added 11, while freshman Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) chipped in with nine points and six rebounds.
Lambert led Bryant with 15 points and four rebounds, while Gresham added 10.
Stonehill, now 16-11 overall and 12-8 in the Northeast-10, return to action on Saturday when they host Merrick in the final regular season home game of the year. Tip time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.