Stonehill Cruises at Saint Michael’s, 75-53


Senior Andre Tongo led the Skyhawks in scoring for the fourth-straight game with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. (PHOTO BY Br. Charles McBride)

Tongo leads Skyhawks to third-straight win with 17 points in balanced effort

COLCHESTER, Vt. (December 3, 2011) – Stonehill College rolled to its third straight victory with a 75-53 decision over Saint Michael's College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at Ross Sports Center this afternoon.

Senior Andre Tongo (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) was Stonehill's top scorer for the fourth-straight contest as he led a balanced effort with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 from three-point range, while converting 2-of-3 free-throws to go with three rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Brian Hamor (Schenectady, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) added 15 points, shooting 6-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-8 from beyond the arc, four rebounds and three assists.

Senior Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) added 14 points, a team-high seven rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, while junior Adam Fazzini (Drums, Pa./Crestwood) cashed in on 3-of-5 three-pointers for the third-straight game and finished with 14 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the field overall while converting all three free-throws to go with three boards in 20 minutes off the bench. Junior Raheem May-Thompson (London, England/Towson (Md.) Catholic) rounded out the Skyhawks five double-figure scorers with ten points and four rebounds, while freshman Jack Cole (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) chipped in with seven boards.


Junior Brian Hamor added 15 points, four rebounds and three assists. (PHOTO BY Br. Charles McBride)

Freshman Corey Crawford (Dover, Del./The Phelps School) led Saint Michael's with 13 points as he made 5-of-9 shots from the field, including 2-for-4 from three-point range, with four rebounds and two assists. Senior Tom Ward (Brighton, England) was the only other Purple Knight in double-figures with 12 points, canning 4-of-6 three-pointers, and five rebounds. Freshman James Cambronne (De Bary, Fla./The Winchendon School) contributed nine points in 15 minutes off the bench, while senior Tyler Schilling (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) chipped in with a game-high nine rebounds.

Stonehill shot 45.8-percent (27-for-59) from the field for the afternoon, including 53.8% (14-26) in the second half, connecting on 11-of-25 (44%) three-pointers for the day. The Skyhawks posted a 41-31 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over just eight times, and registered a 14-7 edge in points off giveaways with Saint Michael's having just ten miscues.

Stonehill limited Saint Michael's to 34.6% (18-for-52) shooting on the day, including 6-for-21 (28.6%) in the first half. The Purple Knights made just 7-of-22 (31.8%) three's and converted at a 55.6% (10-18) rate at the free-throw line.

Stonehill wasted little time taking control, scoring the first five points of the game with two free-throws by Lee and a three-pointer from Hamor just under two minutes into the game. Saint Michael's reeled off seven-straight points to take its only lead of the afternoon (7-5) four and a half minutes in after back-to-back three's by Ward.

Stonehill responded with a 12-1 run over the next seven minutes to open its first double-digit lead (19-8) after a Hamor three with eight minutes left in the half. Ward answered with a three of his own for Saint Michael's, but the Skyhawks extended their lead to 15 (28-13) when Fazzini converted a conventional three-point play with 4:40 left in the frame. Stonehill ran its lead to 20 (37-17) with a Hamor jumper with 1:53 to go in the half, before settling for a 15 point (37-22) halftime advantage.

Still leading by 15 (45-30) with 13 minutes to play in the second half, Stonehill reeled off eight straight points to open a 23 point (53-30) advantage after back-to-back three's by Tongo. The Skyhawks wouldn't let Saint Michael's within 17 the rest of the way, building as much as a 24 point lead on three occasions in the final five minutes of play.

Stonehill (5-1, 4-1 NE-10) returns home to host Southern New Hampshire University for an NE-10 matchup on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Saint Michael's (3-5, 3-2 NE-10) hosts Merrimack College on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.