Northeast No. 4 Skyhawks geared up for postseason run starting against Southwest No. 5 Dolphins
NE10 TOURNAMANT SCHEDULE UPDATE: Thursday, February 24
NE10 Men's Basketball Tournament Seeding Announcement
NE10 Men's Basketball Tournament Central
Chose is the Skyhawks leading scorer after becoming the program's newest 1000-point scorer earlier this season (PHOTO BY Mark Gettens) |
EASTON, Mass. (February 24, 2022) – Northeast Division No. 4 seed Stonehill College looks to start another postseason run when it hosts Southwest No. 5-seeded Le Moyne College in first round action of the 2022 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championship on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The game is the second of an NE10 Tournament doubleheader along with the Stonehill women's basketball team, who will host The College of Saint Rose at 5:30 p.m.
Admission for NE10 Tournament games will be $5.00, with students from NE10 institutions admitted free of charge. Please note that while indoor mask mandates at Stonehill are no longer in place, those attending games are still required to complete and show the Campus Access Authorization Form linked at stonehillskyhaws.com. SkyhawksVision coverage on NE10 NOW with Charlie Bergeron and Brian Buckley is available via portal.stretchinternet.com/stonehill/ with links for the game and live stats at stonehillskyhawks.com. In addition to watching online, NE10 NOW viewers will also be able to watch the action live on their televisions through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
Stonehill (14-11, 10-9 NE10) returns to the NE10 Tournament two years removed from its last appearance when it battled the University of New Haven in a 101-100 triple-overtime thriller at Merkert Gym in the semifinals of the 2020 Tournament just a week before the COVID-19 pandemic shutout on the eve of the NCAA Tournament. The Skyhawks are in their fourth-straight NE10 Tournament, making their 34th appearance in program history overall, a total that ranks third in NE10 history behind only Bentley University (39) and Saint Anselm College (38). Stonehill takes aim at a fifth NE10 Championship, having reached the championship game six times, winning the first two NE10 titles in 1981 and '82, before adding championships in 1989 and 2012.
Le Moyne (12-14, 8-11 NE10) is making its 22nd NE10 Tournament appearance since joining the Conference prior to the 1996-97 season when it went on to capture its first of two NE10 Championships. The Dolphins have made three championship game appearances all-time, also winning the title in 2018. It marks the ninth-straight NE10 Tournament appearance for Le Moyne, having reached at least the semifinals three of the last four years, including its 2018 title run.
Sims is the Skyhawks leading rebounder and also adds over 15 points per game (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens) |
Friday night marks the 41st meeting all-time between these two programs, the fourth in postseason play all of which have come in the NE10 Tournament. Le Moyne holds a 23-17 advantage in the all-time series, winning all three previous NE10 Tournament encounters. Stonehill, however, has won the last two meetings overall, including a 73-64 decision in Syracuse, New York, on January 8. The two teams last met in the NE10 Tournament in the 2018 quarterfinals with the Dolphins posting a 99-60 victory on its way to the championship. Friday night marks the third postseason matchup between the two at Merkert Gym, with Le Moyne notching NE10 Tournament wins in 2007 (61-54) and 2009 (80-66).
Fifth-year Owen Chose scored a career-high 29 points to lead Stonehill to a 73-64 victory over Le Moyne in the regular season meeting between the two in Syracuse on January 8. He made 11-of-22 shots from the floor, including 5-for-14 from three-point range, with a season-best six rebounds, while senior Josh Mack added a then career-best 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, draining all three three-point tries, with four rebounds and two steals. Freshman Christian Davis was the lone Dolphin in double-figures with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 5-for-9 from three, with nine rebounds.
Note that the Northeast-10 on Thursday announced changes to the NE10 Tournament schedule due to the impending weather forecast for the region on Friday. The winner of tomorrow night's first round game advances to Monday's NE10 Quarterfinals to face Southwest Division top-seed Pace University (18-8, 14-5 NE10), which earned a first round bye, at a time to be announced. The NE10 Tournament will continue with semifinal round games on Thursday, March 3, and the NE10 Championship scheduled for Sunday, March 6. All tournament games are hosted by the higher seeds and will now be held in conjunction with the NE10 Women's Basketball Tournament.
Stonehill enters the postseason winners of three of its last four after closing out the regular season with a 63-54 win at Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday to clinch home court for the opening round of the NE10 Tournament. The Skyhawks ranks second in the NE10 for scoring defense (67.7 ppg), while ranking 13th in scoring offense (69.6 ppg), fifth in field goal percentage defense (.423), third in steals per game (6.8), fourth in rebound margin (+1.9) and fifth in free-throw percentage (.731), ranking second in the NE10 for free-throws made (339) and attempted (464).
Burnett leads the NE10 in steals, while adding 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
Chose and senior Andrew Sims lead three averaging in double-figures for Stonehill this season. Chose is averaging 15.2 points (9th NE10) on 41-percent shooting, including 36% from three-point range, converting 87.5% of his free-throws, with 2.6 rebounds per game. Sims in contributing 15.1 points (11th) on 48.1% shooting, converting 72.5% of his free-throws, with a team-high 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
Senior Isaiah Burnett adds 12.4 points per game on 44.6% shooting, including 38.6% from three, with 4.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and an NE10-leading 2.3 steals with a block per game.
Le Moyne heads into the postseason having dropped its last two against regionally ranked opponents after a string of three-straight wins. The Dolphins are ranked ninth in the NE10 for scoring defense (73.7 ppg) and tenth in scoring offense (72.0 ppg), leading the NE10 in blocked shots (5.0), ranking fifth nationally, steals (8.6), ranking 26th nationally, and turnovers forced (15.4) per game. Le Moyne is fourth in the NE10 for three-point percentage defense (.330), sixth in field goal percentage defense (.433) and eighth in field goal percentage (.440).
Davis leads three from Le Moyne in double figures with 13.2 points per game on 43.6-percent shooting, including 35.9% from three-point distance, converting 91% (61-for-67) of his free-throws (2nd NE10), with 6.6 rebounds, and a steal per game. Sophomore Luke Sutherland adds 11.7 points on 53.7% shooting, including 42.3% (11-for-26) from three-point distance, with 4.5 rebounds, while freshman Kevin Constant chips in 10.6 points on 50% shooting, with 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 steals (5th) per contest.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
2022 Northeast-10 Conference
Men's Basketball Championships
Friday, February 25
First Round
Game 1: NE#7 Saint Michael's (8-15, 5-13 NE10) at SW#2 New Haven (17-7, 13-6 NE10) – No Contest due to institutional COVID protocols
Game 2: NE#6 Assumption (11-12, 7-12 NE10) at SW#3 Adelphi (17-9, 11-7 NE10), 7 p.m.
Game 3: SW#5 Le Moyne (12-14, 8-11 NE10) at NE#4 Stonehill (14-11, 10-9 NE10), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 26
First Round
Game 4: NE#5 Southern New Hampshire (13-10, 9-9 NE10) at SW#4 Saint Rose (13-11, 10-9 NE10), 1 p.m.
Game 5: SW#6 Southern Conn. State (7-17, 4-14 NE10) at NE#3 Saint Anselm (15-9, 11-8 NE10), 1 p.m.
Game 6: SW#7 American International (6-22, 3-16 NE10) at NE#2 Franklin Pierce (15-9, 12-7 NE10), 3 p.m.
Monday, February 28
Quarterfinals (hosted by higher seeds)
Game 7: Game 3 winner at SW#1 Pace (18-8, 14-5 NE10), TBA
Game 8: Game 4 winner at NE#1 Bentley (19-4, 14-5 NE10), TBA
Game 9: Game 5 winner at SW#2 New Haven (17-7, 13-6 NE10), 7 p.m.
Game 10: Game 2 winner vs. Game 6 winner, TBA
Thursday, March 3
Semifinals (hosted by higher seeds)
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 10 winner, TBA
Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, TBA
Sunday, March 6
Championship (at highest remaining seed*)
Game 13: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, TBA
* - if same seed, site determined by overall NE10 record and then winner of regular-season matchup
