Stonehill Erases Another Halftime Deficit to Top Franklin Pierce, 64-57

Skyhawks post third second half comeback win of season to maintain NE-10 lead

Boxscore 

Senior Randall Stallworth scored 16 of his game and season-high 23 points in the first half to keep Stonehill in the game before rallying in the second half.

RINDGE, N.H. (December 11, 2009) - Stonehill College, among teams receiving votes in this week's National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll, rallied from a halftime deficit for the third time this season to claim a 64-57 victory over Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse tonight.

Stonehill, winners of seven-straight, will remain in first place in the Conference standings through the holidays with an undefeated NE-10 mark. Senior point guard Randall Stallworth (Toms River, N.J./Monsignor Donovan) led the Skyhawks with a game and season-high 23 points (16 first half) on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, while converting 6-of-9 free-throws to go with three assists and two rebounds. Classmate A.J. Rudowitz (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township) added 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists, while sophomore Ivan Almeida (Santiago, Cape Verde) contributed nine points (all second half), eight rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) chipped in a game-high ten rebounds off the bench.

Freshman Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic) led Franklin Pierce with 22 points (13 second half), on 10-for-21 shooting from the field, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists. Senior Terrell Ray (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, but was held to just one rebound after entering the game averaging 12.1 boards per game.

Stonehill made 47.2-percent (25-for-53) of its shots from the field for the night, including a blistering 63% (17-27) in the second half to erase a six-point (30-24) halftime deficit. The Skyhawks out-rebounded their opposition (48-32) for the eighth time in as many contests this season. Franklin Pierce finished shooting 40.4-percent (23-for-57) from the field, including just 4-for-22 (18.2%) from three-point range.

Franklin Pierce made the first basket of the second half to take its largest lead of  the game (32-24) following a Ray layup 33-seconds in, but Stonehill responded with the next eight points to knot the score (32-32) after a layup from junior Daniel Heppert (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) with 16:16 to play. Heppert converted a three-point play on the Skyhawks next possession to spark a 7-1 run over the next three minutes that put Stonehill up six (41-35) after a Lee layup with 13:11 remaining.   

A layup from freshman Brian Hamor (Schenectady, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) extended Stonehill's lead to eight points (45-37) midway through the second half. Franklin Pierce responded with a 7-2 burst to pull back within a possession (47-44) after a Jean-Guillaume three with 7:04 to play, but the Skyhawks got a Rudowitz three to push the lead back to six (52-46) with 5:47 remaining and the senior added back-to-back jumpers to extend their cushion to eight (56-48) with 3:42 to play.

Franklin Pierce took advantage of Stonehill misses at the free-throw line to draw within five (57-52) after a Jean-Guillaume layup, but the Skyhawks answered again. This time, the visitors iced the game with a 7-0 run, sparked by a Rudowitz dunk with 1:26 remaining, to open a 12-point lead (64-52) with under a minute to play.

The first half featured six ties and as many lead changes. Franklin Pierce closed out the half with a 13-2 run, sparked by three-pointers from Guillaume and junior Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass./The Winchendon School), to turn a five-point deficit (22-17) after two Stallworth free-throws into a six point (30-24) halftime cushion - the largest by either team at that point.  

Stonehill (7-1, 6-0 NE-10) returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Post University for a non-conference clash in Merkert Gymnasium at 2 p.m. Franklin Pierce (4-5, 0-5 NE-10) hosts sixth-ranked Bentley University next Friday at 4 p.m.