|
| A.J. Rudowitz had 14 points in 28 minutes in the Skyhawks' 67-58 win over American International on Tuesday. |
Skyhawks Close Out Regular Season With 67-58 Win
Springfield, Mass. - A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.) scored 12 of his team-high 14 points in the first half and visiting Stonehill had four different players reach double figures as they closed out their regular season with a 67-58 win over American International on Tuesday evening.
The win locks up the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Men's basketball tournament, meaning the Skyhawks will host the winner of the Franklin Pierce-LeMoyne on Monday at 7 p.m. at Merkert Gymnasium.
Rudowitz, who made all five of his field goal attempts in the opening stanza, fouled out in just 28 minutes, but sophomore Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J.) picked up the slack, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) and Daniel Heppert (Richmond, Va.) each added 10 points off the bench for Stonehill, which improved to 21-6 overall and finish Northeast-10 with a 16-6 mark - the same conference mark as UMass-Lowell and Merrimack.
Kevin Wilkins (New Windsor, N.Y.) drained a leftside corner three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Skyhawks a 35-34 lead going into intermission and spark a 17-3 run that put Stonehill in control of the contest.
The Yellow Jackets cut the lead to five following an 8-0 blitz late in the second half, but the Skyhawks ran off six straight of their own - highlighted by a high-flying finish and subsequent free throw from senior Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.) - to bump the Stonehill advantage to 60-49. Stonehill made eight of their final nine free throws to seal the win.
For American International, freshman Isiah Wallace registered a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds.