Northeast No. 4 Skyhawks host Southwest No. 5 Adelphi for NE10 First Round Friday night at 7 p.m.
NE10 Men's Basketball Tournament Pairings Announcement
NE10 Men's Basketball Tournament Central
Adelphi/Stonehill NE10 First Round Game Program
Moreton ranks among the NE10 leaders in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
EASTON, Mass. (February 22, 2018) – Northeast Division No. 4-seed Stonehill College, returns to postseason play after a one year hiatus when it hosts Southwest Division No. 5 Adelphi University for a Northeast-10 Conference Tournament first round battle on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium on Friday at 7 p.m.
Admission will be $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for children and senior citizens and $1.00 for students from participating institutions with a valid college ID. Stonehill students will be admitted free of charge with their HillCard, courtesy of the Department of Athletics and Student Affairs. Student Activities will hold a pre-game party starting in the student section at 6:30 p.m., with free pizza and other giveaways. SkyhawksVision coverage, with Charlie Bergeron and Brian Buckley calling the action, will be available at stonehillskyhawks.tv.
Stonehill (16-11, 12-9 NE-10) is making its 31st appearance in the NE10 Tournament after a one year hiatus. The Skyhawks are tied with American International College for the third-most NE10 Tournament appearances behind only Saint Anselm College (35) and Bentley University (36). Stonehill seeks its fifth NE10 title in program history, having last won the championship in 2012 when the Skyhawks defeated the University of Massachusetts Lowell, 73-61, in the title game at Merkert Gym, which also marks the Skyhawks last postseason game at home.
Adelphi (11-17, 7-13 NE10) clinched its seventh NE10 Tournament appearance since joining the Conference in 2009-10 with a last-second 78-77 triumph over American International in the regular season finale on Tuesday night. Senior Terrel Martin-Garcia (Catford, England) scored off an inbounds pass with less than five seconds to play to lift the Panthers past the Yellow Jackets after the two teams entered the game tied for the fifth and final playoff spot from the Southwest Division. Adelphi has reached the finals twice in their six previous NE10 Tournament trips, winning the championship in 2011.
Lee ranks among NE10 assists leaders and is one of four double-figure scorers for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Friday night marks the sixth postseason encounter between these two programs, the fourth in the NE10 Tournament. Stonehill has won five of the six previous postseason meetings, including a thrilling 103-101 overtime triumph in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 NE10 Tournament in Garden City, New York. Adelphi grabbed a 97-89 victory over the Skyhawks in their lone regular season matching on Long Island back on January 27. The teams combined for 112 points in the first half alone, which finished deadlocked at 56-56, before the Panthers secured the win by limiting the Skyhawks to 33 points over the final 20 minutes. Martin-Garcia led five Adelphi players in double-figures with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench, while sophomore Dan Largey (Oceanport, New Jersey/Peddie School) led five from Stonehill in double-figures with 20 points and seven rebounds.
The winner of tomorrow night's game advances to Sunday's NE10 Quarterfinals and will visit Southwest top-seeded Le Moyne College (21-6, 18-2 NE10), ranked first in the NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, No. 19 in the D2SIDA Top 25 Media Poll and No. 22 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll, in Syracuse, New York, at 4 p.m. The NE10 Tournament continues with semifinal round action on Wednesday, February 28, with the NE10 Championship scheduled for Saturday, March 3, at 1 p.m.
Stonehill heads into the postseason having won five of its last seven since the January 27 setback at Adelphi, despite an 82-72 defeat at Saint Anselm College on Tuesday night to close out the regular season. The Skyhawks are 8-6 this season at Merkert Gym, having won five of their last six at home. Stonehill is the top three-point shooting team in the NE10, ranking sixth nationally in Division II overall, at 41.9-percent from beyond the arc, with seven Skyhawks are shooting 40-percent from three-point range or better. Stonehill ranks sixth among NE10 scoring leaders with 78.6 points per game, ranking sixth in field goal percentage offense (.468) and seventh in free-throw percentage (.747), averaging 15.2 assists per game (5th NE10). The Skyhawks also commit the fourth-fewest turnovers per game (12.2) and rank third in the NE10 with 6.9 steals per game.
Twitty contributes over 14 points per game for the Skyhawks (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Stonehill is led by the sophomore trio of swingman Will Moreton (Minneapolis, Minnesota/Edina) and guards Brandon Twitty (Randolph, Massachusetts/Catholic Memorial) and Largey. Moreton fills the stat sheet with 18.2 points (8th NE10), 7.5 rebounds (5th), 2.8 assists (19th) and 1.3 steals (12th) in 33 minutes per game for the Skyhawks, shooting 46.6-percent from the floor, including 43.2% (80-for-185) from three-point distance (14th), while converting 76.9% (60-78) of his free-throws. Twitty contributes 14.4 points on 45.2% shooting, including 41.7% (60-144) from deep, with 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, while Largey is adding 11.8 points on 44.4% shooting, including 43.6% (58-133) from deep (11th), converting an NE10-best 91.2% (52-57) of his free-throws, with 4.3 rebounds per outing.
Seniors KJ Lee (Huntington Station, New York/Long Island Lutheran), Joel Berroa (Lawrence, Massachusetts/Bridgton Academy) and Ryan Roach (Weymouth, Massachusetts/Cardinal Spellman) provide the experience for Stonehill's otherwise young squad. Lee is averaging 10.4 points on 49.3% shooting, 5.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists (6th), while Berroa chips in 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. Freshman Owen Chose (Eden Prairie, Minnesota/Eden Prairie) adds a spark off the bench with 8.7 points on 44% shooting (44-for-100) from three (10th) in 18.6 minutes per game.
Adelphi, winners of three of its last four, leads the NE10 with 86.1 points per game (23rd nationally), but yields a Conference-high 84.8 points per contest. The Panthers are fifth in the NE10 with a .472 team field goal percentage, including 35.8% from three-point distance (13th), and eighth in free-throw percentage (.746), dishing out 18.3 assists per game (2nd).
Senior Michael Coffey (Monroe, New York/John S. Burke) leads four Adelphi players in double figures with 15.6 points per game (11th) on 44.2-percent shooting, including 32.2% (59-for-183) from three-point distance, converting 81.9% (95-116) of his free-throws (10th), with 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Junior Jack Laffey (Red Bank, New Jersey/Christian Brothers Academy) is adding 14.4 points on 46.1% shooting, including 39.7% (93-234) from deep, with 3.8 rebounds per game. Martin-Garcia contributes 12.2 points on 53.7% shooting (9th), 6.8 rebounds (11th) and 1.5 blocked shots (2nd), while junior Tavon Ginyard (Brentwood, New York/Brentwood) is averaging 12.4 points, 2.8 boards and 3.3 assists in 20.2 minutes per game off the bench. Junior Conor McGuinness (New City, New York/Clarkstown South) distributes 7.5 assists per game (2nd).
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2018 Northeast-10 Conference
Men's Basketball Championships
Friday, February 23
First Round
Game 1: #5SW Adelphi (11-17, 7-13 NE10) at #4NE Stonehill (16-11, 12-9 NE10), 7 p.m.
Game 2: #5NE Southern N.H. (15-11, 11-10 NE10) at #4SW Southern Conn. State (15-11, 11-9 NE10), 7 p.m.
Sunday, February 25
Quarterfinals
Game 3: ADE/STO winner at #1SW Le Moyne (21-6, 18-2 NE10), 4 p.m.
Game 4: SNH/SCS winner at #1NE Saint Anselm (20-7, 15-6 NE10), 3 p.m.
Game 5: #3NE Bentley (15-11, 12-9 NE10) at #2SW Saint Rose (20-8, 15-5 NE10), 3 p.m.
Game 6: #3SW New Haven (17-9, 13-7 NE10) at #2NE Merrimack (18-10, 14-7 NE10), 3 p.m.
Wednesday, February 28
Semifinals (at higher seeds)
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 5
Championship (at highest remaining seed)
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner*, 1 p.m.
* - if same seed, site determined by winner of regular-season matchup