Head Coach David McLaughlin won his 172nd game in charge of Stonehill, setting a new program record for victories with today's decision. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

Skyhawks advance to Wednesday's semifinal round to face #2 Adelphi
McLaughlin nets 172^nd career win to surpass Pepin atop program win charts
Class of 2012 becomes winningest class in program history with 86^th victory

Stonehill (19-8, 15-7 NE-10) advances to Wednesday's semifinal round of the NE-10 Tournament and will visit second-seeded Adelphi University (20-7, 16-6 NE-10) in Garden City, N.Y., at 7 p.m. The Panthers advanced with a 54-51 triumph over tenth-seeded University of New Haven in their quarterfinal matchup this afternoon. The Skyhawks victory snaps a string of four-straight NE-10 Tournament defeats dating back to 60-47 victory over Pace University in the quarterfinals of the 2008 tournament. Merrimack now awaits word on an NCAA Tournament bid with a 15-12 record overall, 12-10 in NE-10 play.

Stonehill saw a pair of milestones accomplished with today's win as head coach David McLaughlin became the winningest head coach in program history with his 172^nd career win, surpassing Hall of Famer Ray Pepin who posted a 171-141 (.548) record over 11 years at the helm from 1984-1995. McLaughlin is now 172-83 (.675) over his nine seasons at Stonehill. Skyhawks seniors Patrick Lee (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius), Sean Lowry (Butler, Pa./Butler) and Andre Tongo (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) also established history by becoming the winningest class in program history with an 86-30 (.741) mark over their careers, surpassing the previous mark of 85-36 (.702) set by their former teammates from the Class of 2011.

Tongo led the way for Stonehill with 19 points (15 second half) on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and converting all four free-throw attempts to go with a game-high matching seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior Brian Hamor (Schenectady, N.Y./Bishop Gibbons) added 15 points, seven assists, two boards and two blocked shots as he connected on 4-of-9 shots from the field and converted all six of his free-throw attempts.

Senior Andre Tongo led the Skyhawks with 19 points and seven rebounds on Sunday. (PHOTO BY Bert Lane)

Sophomore Mitch Amelio (Carlsbad, Calif./La Jolla Country Day) provided a spark of the bench as he scored 11 of his career-high 14 points in the opening half to lead a Stonehill bench that outscored the Merrimack reserves 28-4. He made 5-of-7 shots from the field, including 4-for-6 from three-point range on the afternoon. Freshman Jack Cole (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) made all four of his shots from the field on his way to ten points to go with six boards, while Lee added ten points on 5-of-7 shooting with five boards, three assists and four steals.

Senior Wayne Mack (Paterson, N.J./Paterson Catholic) led all scorers with a game-high 26 points to lead Merrimack as he shot 9-of-16 from the field and converted 8-of-10 free-throws to go with a game-high matching seven rebounds over 40 minutes. Junior Mike Clifford (Danvers, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) added 11 points, aided by 7-for-7 shooting from the line, and six rebounds, while senior Aaron Strothers (Wareham, Mass./Marianopolis Prep) posted 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor while canning all three free-throw attempts to go with two blocked shots and two steals. Senior Wilfredo Pagan (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) rounded out the double-figure scorers with ten points, drilling 3-of-5 three's, with two boards and three steals.

Stonehill shot 50.9-percent (29-for-57) from the field, including 55.6% (15-27) in the second half to pull away, while draining 9-of-21 (42.9%) three-pointers and converting 18-of-23 (78.3%) free-throws. The Skyhawks posted a 35-29 rebounding edge, limiting Merrimack to just five offensive rebounds that resulted in a 14-5 advantage in second chance points. Stonehill also outscored the Warriors 20-11 off turnovers. Merrimack shot 41.2-percent (21-for-51) overall, including 38.5% (10-26) in the second half, and connected on just 3-of-14 (21.4%) from beyond the arc. The Warriors converted 21-of-26 (80.8%) shots from the line.

Stonehill started strong, jumping out to an 11-4 lead after a Lee jumper 4:45 in. Hamor opened the game with a three-pointer and added another basket for five points during that stretch. The Skyhawks extended the lead to nine (18-9) after a Cole tip-in with 13:38 in the half on their way to a 13 point margin (32-19) on a three-pointer by junior Adam Fazzini (Drums, Pa./Crestwood) with 6:35 remaining in the half.

Merrimack responded with 11-straight points to close within two (32-30) on a Mack jumper with 2:35 left in the frame. Mack had six points in all during that stretch. Stonehill answered by scoring the final ten points of the half, keyed by a pair of triples from Amelio, to carry a 12 point (42-30) lead into halftime, capped by a Lee layup.

After the teams traded baskets over the opening two minutes of the second half, Stonehill stretched its lead to 17 (54-37) with a Fazzini three ball 5:50 in. The Skyhawks reeled off a 14-2 run to extend the lead to 24 (63-39) after an Amelio three with 11:57 to play and Merrimack never seriously threatened again. Stonehill pushed the margin to a game-high 28 (73-45) with a tip-in by junior Raheem May-Thompson (London, England/Towson (Md.) Catholic) with 7:22 remaining before settling for the 19-point winning margin.