Senior A.J. Rudowitz led the Skyhawks with 17 points, nine rebounds and three steals. |
2010 NCAA DIVISION II EAST
REGIONAL
#20 Stonehill Surges Past Felician, 75-52
Skyhawks shoot 50-percent in each half to advance to regional semifinals
EASTON, Mass. (March 13, 2010) – Top-seeded and host Stonehill College, ranked 20th in this week’s National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II poll, shot 50-percent from the field to collect a 75-52 victory over eighth-seeded Felician College in opening round action of the 2010 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball East Regional at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.
Stonehill (24-5, 20-2 NE-10) advances to tomorrow night’s second round, where it will face fourth-seeded Philadelphia University (26-7, 16-1 CACC) at 7 p.m. The Rams advanced with an 89-85 overtime victory over fifth-seeded Saint Anselm College in tonight’s second game. Felician finishes its season with a 24-7 record overall, 14-4 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC), capturing the tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the first NCAA tournament appearance in school history.
Senior A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) led Stonehill with game-high totals of 17 points, on 6-of-11 shooting from the field while converting 5-of-6 free-throw attempts, and nine rebounds, three steals and two assists. Sophomore Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) added 15 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field and canning 5-of-6 free-throws, to go with five rebounds (four offensive) off the bench.
Sophomore Patrick Lee posted 15 points and five rebounds. |
Junior Daniel Heppert (Richmond, Va./Benadictine) contributed 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, and four steals, while sophomore Ivan Almeida (Praia, Cape Verde) rounded out the double-figure scorers with ten points and three assists. Senior Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) chipped in with a season-high ten assists for the Skyhawks.
Junior Devon Young (Monmouth Junction, N.J./Snyder) led Felician with 16 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field, including both three-point attempts, and three offensive rebounds. Sophomore Antoine Obery (Roselle, N.J./Abraham Clark) added 11 points and two steals, while junior Saquan Gary (Paterson, N.J./PCTI) chipped in seven points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and two steals.
Stonehill shot an even 50-percent from the field in both halves, finishing 29-for-58 from the floor overall, while converting 15-of-18 (83.3%) free-throw attempts on the night. The Skyhawks dominated the glass, out-rebounding Felician by a 37-23 margin, including 17-14 on its offensive end, resulting in a 20-7 advantage in second chance points. They also enjoyed a 28-11 split in points off turnovers. Felician shot 41.7% (20-48) from the field, including 9-for-23 (39.1%) in the second half.
Stonehill closed the first half out with an 11-2 run to turn a one-point lead into a ten-point (34-24) halftime margin after two free-throws by Lee with four-seconds left in the half. Lee had four points in all during that stretch, sparked by a three-pointer by Heppert. The Skyhawks kept the pressure on at the start of the second half, extending their lead to 17 (43-26) after a steal and dunk by Heppert 4:22 into the frame.
Felician closed within nine twice midway through the second half, but Stonehill put the game away by taking an 18-point (58-40) lead after a Rudowitz layup with 6:54 left. The Skyhawks posted an 8-0 spurt to push the lead to 23 (70-47) on an Almeida layup to seal the win with 2:47 to go.
Felician led by seven (18-11) in the early going after a quick 7-0 run capped by an Obery layup with 11:03 to play in the first half. Stonehill responded with a 19-4 run to take the lead after a three-point play from Rudowitz and extend it to eight (30-22) after a Lee jumper with 1:10 left before halftime.
