Heppert

Kernan

Almeida

Kernan and Almeida earn second team All-Northeast-10 honors
Heppert voted NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year

Senior guard Daniel Heppert (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) was named the Northeast-10 Conference's Defensive Player of the Year, marking the second-straight year a Stonehill player has earned the award – third time in program history overall. Senior forward Mike Kernan (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) and junior swingman Ivan Almeida (Praia, Cape Verde) were both selected to the All-Northeast-10 Conference second team. All three have earned NE-10 postseason honors for the first time in their careers.

Heppert, who joins former teammate and 2009-10 honoree Randall Stallworth as NE-10 Defensive Players of the Year, collects the award as the leader of the top defensive team in the Conference. Stonehill leads the NE-10 in scoring defense (60.2 ppg – 5^th nationally) and blocked shots per game (4.82 – 14^th nationally) while ranking second in field goal percentage defense (.383 – 5^th nationally) and fifth for three-point field goal percentage (.310 – 12^th nationally).

Heppert has started all 28 games for the Skyhawks in his senior season and is averaging 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.89 blocked shots (11^th NE-10) in 31.7 minutes per game. He is shooting 48.7-percent from the field and converting a team-best 77% (77-100) of his free-throws. Heppert has led Stonehill in scoring four times this season and rebounding twice, posting a pair of double-doubles.

Heppert has played 102 games, starting 60, over his collegiate career at Stonehill, totaling 660 points, 414 rebounds, 124 assists, 89 steals and 67 blocked shots. He scored a career-best 19 points in a win over The College of Saint Rose on January 29 and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds in a victory over Southern Connecticut State University on January 5.

Kernan earns All-NE-10 honors for the first time after averaging a double-double through 28 starts for Stonehill this season. He is averaging 12.3 points and 10.4 rebounds (2^nd NE-10, 8^th nationally), including a Conference-best 7.6 defensive boards per game, to go with 1.04 blocked shots in 31.3 minutes per game. Kernan is shooting 50.2-percent (144-287) from the field (12^th) this season. He has led the Skyhawks in scoring seven times and rebounding in 21 games, posting eight double-doubles.

Kernan became the 35^th player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau recently and currently ranks 31^st all-time with 1,026 points in 118 career games played (83 starts). He also ranks third in the program's Northeast-10 Conference era with 875 career rebounds (13^th all-time in NE-10 history), while also totaling 116 assists, 75 steals and 85 blocks (8^th). Kernan scored a career-high 21 points in a win over Assumption College on January 11 and snared a career-best 19 rebounds in a win over Saint Rose on January 29.

Almeida is also a first-time All-Conference selection as Stonehill's leading scorer with 13.1 points (24^th NE-10) to go with 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 blocks shots (6^th), 1.2 steals and 1.1 assists in 26 minutes per game while starting all 28 games. He is shooting 46-percent (145-315) from the field for the season. Almeida has led the Skyhawks in scoring 11 times this winter (with the team going 9-2 in those contests) and rebounding in five games, posting three double-doubles.

Almeida has started all 58 games in his two seasons at Stonehill, totaling 626 points, 3-4 rebounds, 74 assists, 69 blocked shots and 58 steals. He posted a team season high and career-best 29 points in a non-conference win at Concordia (N.Y.) College on December 14 and snared a career-high 15 rebounds in a win over LIU-C.W. Post on November 13.

Stonehill (21-7, 16-6 NE-10) is seeded third for the NCAA Division II East Regional Tournament, hosted by Bentley University, this weekend. The Skyhawks will open the NCAA Tournament with a regional quarterfinal against sixth-seeded Adelphi University (20-10, 12-10 NE-10), who captured the NE-10 tournament title over the weekend, on Saturday in Bentley's Dana Athletic Center at noon. Stonehill is making its third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 11^th overall in program history.