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| Matt Hall scored
14, including a dunk with eight seconds left to seal the
Skyhakw 59-56 win over Pace |
No. 13 Skyhawks Overcome Late Deficit, Escape with 59-56 Win
Pleasantville, N.Y. - The 13th ranked Skyhawks gave away a 12 point halftime lead but stormed back in the final minutes behind key buckets from Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J.) and Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.) as Stonehill beat the Pace Setters 59-56 on Tuesday evening.
With the only 47 seconds left and the score tied at 54, Adrian Mills hit a jumper to give the Setter a two point lead. The Skyhawks countered as Stallworth took the inbound pass dribbled the length of the court and drove the lane going up and under for the layup and drawing a foul for the three point play.
Stallworth's hit the free throw and the Skyhawks took the 57-56 lead with 38 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession both teams got tangled down low and the Setters were awarded the jump ball.
Hall intercepted the inbound pass and took the ball down the floor for a two handed flush with just nine seconds remaining, extending the Stonehill lead to three.
The Setter's Justin Alton then missed a three at the end that would have tied it as the Skyhawks escaped with the 59-56 win.
The first ten minutes of the game was a back and forth affair as neither team could gain an advantage, however, a 7-0 run by Pace gave them a 17-16 lead with 8:48 remaining.
It would be their last lead of the half as Stonehill held Pace to just four points the rest of the period as five different players combined for 17 and the Skyhawks went into the half with a 33-21 lead.
In the second, Pace came out ready to play, going on a 12-3 run during the first five minutes of play, capped off by a Mills layup to bring the Setters within three at 36-33 and prompting a Stonehill timeout.
The timeout didn't slow Pace as they took a 43-41 lead off a Ryan Woods triple with 11:35 remaining and used a 8-0 run from there to grab a 10 point lead, including another Woods three with just over nine minutes left.
Stonehill fought back, behind four points from A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J.) and five from Stallworth, the last two tying it at 54 with 2:35 left in the contest. The game remained tied until Mills hit the go-ahead shot for the Setters with 47 seconds on the clock.
Rudowitz scored a team high 17 for Stonehill while Stallworth added 17 points, ten of which came in the second half, and dished out four assists.
Hall joined them in double figures with 14 points and also grabbed five rebounds.
With the win the Skyhawks extend their winning streak to nine games as they improve to 15-2 overall and 10-2 in the Northeast-10.
On Saturday Stonehill travels to Merrimack to take on a 14-3 (10-2 NE-10) Warriors in a battle for sole possession of first place in the NE-10. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.