Junior Raheem May-Thompson led a balanced scoring effort for Stonehill with 13 points off the bench. (PHOTO BY Marcus Snowden)

Strong second half defense, points off turnovers and second chance points the difference in Skyhawks home opener

Stonehill outscored Queens 29-17 in the second half to break open a four point (28-24) halftime lead and earn the win in the Skyhawks home opener. Stonehill held the Knights to 30.6-percent (15-for-49) shooting on the day, including 6-for-27 (22.2%) in the second half and took advantage of 18 Queens turnovers for a 23-8 margin in points off. The Skyhawks finished with a 45-34 rebounding edge, resulting in a 20-4 margin in second chance points, and also posted a 15-5 advantage in bench scoring.

Senior Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) led the way for Stonehill with his first double-double of the season (fourth career) as he scored ten points to go with a career-high 12 rebounds (five offensive) and career-best four blocked shots. Junior Raheem May-Thompson (London, England) led the balanced scoring effort for the Skyhawks with a team-high 13 points, on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, and three rebounds (two offensive) in 24 minutes off the bench.

Senior Andre Tongo (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) also netted ten points to go with a career-high seven rebounds (three offensive), while junior Brian Hamor (Schenectady, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) scored ten points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range. Junior Sam Markle (Bethany, Conn./Saint Thomas More) chipped in with a career-high eight rebounds to go with eight assists and seven points.

Senior Patrick Lee grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds to go with ten points for his fourth career double-double. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

Stonehill finished shooting 35.5-percent (22-for-62) from the field, including 41.4% (12-29) in the second half, in the contest.

Senior Khalil McDonald (Queens Village, N.Y./Campus Magnet) was the lone Queens player in double figures with a game-high 14 points, shooting 5-for-15 from the field, including 2-for-4 from three-point range, while converting both free-throw attempts, to go with eight rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Jeremiah Mordi (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream Central) added nine points, five rebounds and two assists, while junior Daniel Watson (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Mt. Vernon) chipped in with seven rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

Stonehill used a 12-2 run over a seven minute span over the midway point of the second half to turn a five point lead (36-31) after McDonald drained a three with 14:27 to play in the half into a 15 point advantage (48-33) on a layup from Tongo with 7:35 remaining. Queens pulled within ten (49-39) with two Mordi free-throws with 3:59 to play, but that was as close as the Knights would get.

Stonehill answered with a fast break dunk from May-Thompson to spark a push that produced a game-high 16 point lead (55-39) after a free-throw from Tongo with 1:52 remaining. Markle produced a conventional three-point play during the game-clinching run as well.

Queens led by five on two occasions in the opening ten minutes of the contest, the latter after a McDonald layup (16-11) with 10:40 left in the first half. A Stonehill timeout spurred a 10-3 run that saw the Skyhawks take the lead (21-19) after a May-Thompson jumper with 5:19 left before the intermission. Stonehill extended the lead to six (28-22) on a Hamor three with 3:01 remaining before setting for the four point (28-24) halftime lead.

Stonehill (2-0, 1-0 NE-10) returns to Northeast-10 Conference play on Tuesday night when it visits Franklin Pierce University at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks return home on Sunday, November 27, to host Merrimack College for an NE-10 matchup at Merkert Gym at 3:30 p.m.