Three-Pointers Fuel Stonehill Win Over Bloomfield, 84-73


Junior Pierce Cumpstone scored 20 of his season-high 22 points in the second half as the Skyhawks sealed a fourth-straight home win. (PHOTO BY Emily Reynolds)

Cumpstone nets season-high 22 points, Logan notches double-double for Skyhawks 

EASTON, Mass. (January 17, 2015) – Stonehill College shot 50-percent from the field and drained ten three-pointers to fuel its fourth straight home win with an 84-73 victory against Bloomfield College in non-conference men's basketball action on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium this afternoon.

Junior Pierce Cumpstone (Bainbridge Township, Ohio/Kenston) scored 20 of his season-high 22 points in the second half as Stonehill held off Bloomfield over the final 20 minutes for the win. He made 9-of-15 shots from the field and converted both free-throw attempts to go with three rebounds and two blocked shots in 21 minutes off the bench, leading a Skyhawks reserve unit which outscored the Bloomfield bench 43-17. Sophomore Ryan Logan (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown) added his third double-double of the season (all within the last five games) as he scored ten of his 15 points in the first half and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds (five offensive) to go with two assists and a steal.

Junior Carter Smith (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) rounded out Stonehill's double-figure scorers with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, converting both free-throw attempts, with a season-high eight assists, three rebounds and two steals. Senior Jack Cole (New Providence, New Jersey/New Providence) chipped in nine points, two boards and three blocked shots for the Skyhawks.

Senior Marvin Williams (Jersey City, New Jersey/Marist) and freshman Nick Davidson (Lumberton, New Jersey/Rancocas Valley) led four Bloomfield players in double figures with 18 points apiece. Williams was aided by 9-of-11 shooting from the free-throw line while adding six rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Davidson shot 8-for-16 from the floor and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Junior Claude Blue (Brooklyn, New York/Graphic Arts) added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, while converting 3-of-4 free-throws, with six rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while senior Matt Hall (Brooklyn, New York/Bishop Ford) contributed 13 points and seven boards off the bench for the Bears.

Stonehill finished shooting 50-percent (30-for-60) from the field, including 55.2% (16-for-29) in the first half in which it also connected on 7-of-15 (46.7%) three-pointers to build a 13 point (42-29) halftime lead. The Skyhawks shot 10-for-28 (35.7%) from beyond the arc overall and converted 14-of-16 (87.5%) free-throws in the win, holding a 40-36 rebounding edge. Bloomfield shot just 38.6-percent (27-for-70) from the floor, including 34.2% (13-for-38) in the first half, connecting on just 3-of-14 (21.4%) threes, while converting 16-of-20 (80%) free-throws.


Sophomore Ryan Logan posted his third double-double in the last five games for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Paul W. Fitzgerald Photography)

Stonehill erased an early eight point deficit (11-3) following a Williams jumper 3:18 into the contest to lead by as much as 15 in the opening half before taking a 13 point cushion (42-29) into halftime. The Bears lead was seven (15-8) after a pair of Williams free-throws six minutes into the opening half and then Stonehill reeled off eight straight points to take its first lead (16-15) with a Smith three-pointer with 11:42 to play in the frame.

Hall put Bloomfield back in front, but Stonehill used a 14-4 run to take a nine point lead (30-21) after a Logan layup with 5:54 to play in the half. Blue scored at the other end for the Bears, but the Skyhawks pushed the lead to 11 (34-23) with four minutes to go after back to back layups by Smith and Cole. Back to back three-pointers from sophomore Jimmy Walsh (Manasquan, New Jersey/Manasquan) and junior Daniel Brix (Monroe Township, New Jersey/St. Joseph), before Smith added a layup, extended the Stonehill lead to 15 (42-27) before settling for the 13 point halftime advantage.

Stonehill's lead wouldn't dip inside double figures in the second half until an 11-1 Bloomfield run pulled the visitors within six (63-57) after two free-throws by junior Clarence White (Bronx, New York/Saint Michael's) with eight minutes still to play. The run came after Logan had given the Skyhawks a game-high 16 point cushion (62-46) with 11:07 on the clock.

Stonehill steadied and Cumpstone forced a Bloomfield timeout with a quick layup and three-pointer to restore a double-digit lead before he added a third straight basket for a 13 point advantage (70-57) with 6:22 remaining. The Bears closed within nine three times over a 90-second span in the final five minutes, but would get no closer as the Skyhawks had every answer down the stretch to close out the win, keyed by six more points from Cumpstone and four by Smith.

Stonehill (10-6, 5-5 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday night when it hosts Southern Connecticut State University, ranked 19th in this week's D2SIDA Top 25 Media Poll and first in the East Region, for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at 7:30 p.m. Bloomfield (6-9, 5-3 CACC) visits Nyack College for a league matchup on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

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Game Highlights