Senior Carter Smith canned 7-of-9 three-pointers on his way to a season-high 25 points tonight. (PHOTO BY Eamonn Grealish)

Smith fires Skyhawks to NE-10 win with 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting from three 

WORCESTER, Mass. (November 18, 2015) – Stonehill College, among teams receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll and ranked sixth in the D2SIDA East Regional poll, shot 50-percent from the field and nearly as well from three-point range, to notch an 83-66 victory over Assumption College in the Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball opener for both at Laska Gymnasium tonight.

Senior Carter Smith (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) paced the Stonehill offense with a game-high 25 points keyed by 7-for-9 shooting from three-point range, while classmate Pierce Cumpstone (Bainbridge Township, Ohio/Kenston) and junior Ryan Logan (Fredericktown, Ohio/Fredericktown) each contributed double-double efforts in the win. Smith made 9-of-13 shots from the field, including his blistering 7-for-9 from beyond the arc, to go with six assists and two steals.

Cumpstone added 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season (fifth career) with three blocked shots and two assists off the bench as he made 6-of-10 shots from the floor, including 2-for-5 from three, converting both free-throws. Logan added 15 points and ten boards for his second double-double of the year (ninth career) with two assists, shooting 6-for-10 overall, including 2-for-2 from three. Junior Jimmy Walsh (Manasquan, New Jersey/Manasquan) chipped in eight points and three boards.

Senior Pierce Cumpstone contributed a double-double off the bench for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

Sophomore Kamali Bey (Springfield, Massachusetts/Wilbraham & Monson) led Assumption with 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting with five rebounds, while senior Julian Aiken (Randolph, New Jersey/Randolph) added 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, with three rebounds and two assists. Junior Jack Sullivan (Stony Point, New York/Albertus Magnus) chipped in nine points, burying all three three-point attempts with four boards, two assists and two steals.

Stonehill shot 50-percent from the field (30-for-60), including 14-for-30 (46.7%) from long distance, shooting 50% in each half, including 8-for-16 (50%) from beyond the arc in the second half. The Skyhawks dominated the glass with a 42-30 rebounding advantage, allowing just nine offensive boards, and collected assists on 23 of their 30 field goals for the night. Assumption couldn't keep up the shooting pace of Stonehill, finishing at 40-percent from the floor (26-for-65), including 12-for-30 (40%) from deep.

Assumption held a four point lead (19-15) after an Aiken three-pointer with 6:07 left in the first half, when Stonehill reeled off a 14-1 run to take a nine point lead (29-20) three minutes later after consecutive three-pointers from Logan and sophomore Isaiah Bess (LaGrange, Maine/Hampden Academy). Logan had five points during that stretch, while senior Adam Bramanti (Middleton, Massachusetts/Masconomet) also canned a three.

Freshman Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Virginia/Christ Chapel Academy) answered initially with a three-pointer for Assumption, but Stonehill pushed its lead to 11 (36-25) after a Smith layup before taking a ten point cushion into halftime.

Assumption trimmed the deficit to four (51-47) after a three by sophomore Mat Sulda (Hatfield, Massachusetts/Smith Academy) with 12:28 still to play. Stonehill's lead was five (55-50) midway through the half before back to back three-pointers from Smith were followed by a Cumpstone triple to quickly extend the lead to 14 (64-50) with 8:51 remaining. The Skyhawks lead stretched to 20 (74-54) after another Smith three with five minutes left before peaking at 23 (79-56) after two Cumpstone free-throws with 2:37 to go.

Stonehill (3-0, 1-0 NE-10) returns home on Saturday when it hosts Saint Anselm College for an NE-10 matchup at 3:30 p.m. Assumption (2-1, 0-1 NE-10) travels to Saint Michael's College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

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