Sims scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Skyhawks past Le Moyne in the first round on Friday night (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Northeast No. 4 Skyhawks seeks return to NE10 semifinals with win over Southwest No. 1 Setters
NE10 Men's Basketball Tournament Central
EASTON, Mass. (February 27, 2022) – Northeast Division No. 4 seed Stonehill College looks to continue its march in the Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Tournament into March when it visits Southwest Division top seed Pace University, ranked fifth in this week's NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, for quarterfinal round action at the Goldstein Recreation Center in Pleasantville, New York, Monday at 7:30 p.m. The game is the second of an NE10 Tournament doubleheader along with the Stonehill women's basketball team taking on Pace for a quarterfinal matchup at 5:30 p.m.
Admission for NE10 Tournament games will be $5.00, with students from NE10 institutions admitted free of charge with ID. NE10 NOW coverage with Chris Lynch calling the action 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 (15-11, 10-9 NE10), in the NE10 Tournament for the fourth-straight year and 34th year overall, looks to reach a second-straight semifinal, having battled the University of New Haven in a 101-100 triple-overtime thriller at Merkert Gymnasium in 2020, just a week before the COVID-19 pandemic shutout on the eve of the NCAA Tournament. The Skyhawks 34 NE10 Tournament appearances rank third in Conference 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.
Stonehill reached Monday's quarterfinal round with a 58-52 decision over Southwest Division No. 5 seed Le Moyne College at Merkert Gym on Friday night. The Skyhawks held the Dolphins under 30-percent shooting in the second half to erase a six-point halftime deficit and secure the win. Senior Andrew Sims scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting to lead the way for Stonehill, adding five rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.
Bonsu scored a career-best 13 points at Pace during the regular season and been among the most improved Skyhawks this season (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard) |
Pace (18-8, 14-5 NE10), who earned a first round bye into the NE10 Quarterfinals as the Southwest Division's regular season champion and top seed, makes its third-straight NE10 Tournament appearance and the 17th all-time since joining the Conference prior to the 1997-98 season after claiming its first NE10 regular season title. The Setters take aim at just their third semifinal trip in search of a spot in the NE10 Championship game for the first time. Pace last reached the semifinals in 2007 when it was edged by The College of Saint Rose, 82-81, after back-to-back quarterfinal losses in 2019 and 2020.
Monday night marks the 37th meeting all-time between these two programs, the third in NE10 Tournament play. Stonehill holds a 21-15 advantage in the all-time series between the two, having split the two prior postseason matchups. The Setters have won the last three meetings between the two, including a 78-66 decision during the regular season in Pleasantville on January 19. The teams last met in the NE10 Tournament in the quarterfinal round in 2008, with the Skyhawks notching a 60-47 win in New York.
Junior Bryan Powell led Pace in the regular season encounter between the two in January with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including all three three-point attempts, with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Sims led Stonehill with 23 points, aided by a 13-for-14 effort at the free-throw line, with eight rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot, while sophomore Emmanuel Bonsu added a career-high 13 points, four rebounds and three steals.
The winner of tomorrow night's quarterfinal round game advances to Thursday's NE10 semifinals to face the winner of Monday's matchup between Northeast No. 2 Franklin Pierce University (16-9, 12-7 NE10) and Northeast No. 6 Assumption University (12-12, 7-12 NE10) being contested in Rindge, New Hampshire. The NE10 Championship is scheduled for Sunday, March 6. All tournament games are hosted by the higher seeds.
Stonehill heads into Monday night's quarterfinal winners of four of its last five after Friday night's first round win over Le Moyne. The Skyhawks rank second in the NE10 for scoring defense (67.1 ppg), while ranking 13th in scoring offense (69.1 ppg), third in field goal percentage defense (.420) and steals per game (6.8), fourth in free-throw percentage (.731), with an NE10-high 354 free-throws made and ranking second in free-throw attempts and fifth in rebound margin (+1.8).
Chose has cracked the top 20 on Stonehill's career scoring list, and could move into the top three for three-point field goals (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix) |
Sims and fifth-year Owen Chose lead three averaging in double-figures for Stonehill this season. Sims is averaging a team-high 15.5 points (9th NE10) on 48.4-percent shooting, converting 73.2% (93-for-127) of his free-throws (15th), ranking second in the NE10 with 5.3 free-throw attempts per game, with a team-high 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, while Chose contributes 14.6 points (13th), including 2.6 three-pointers per game (6th). He enters Monday night ranked 20th on Stonehill's career scoring list with 1,318 points, while his 245 career three-point field goals are good for fourth all-time – just two behind Ed Grzembski, '91 for third all-time.
Senior Isaiah Burnett adds 12.3 points per game on 45.2% shooting, including 39.3% (33-84) from three, with 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists (15th) and an NE10-leading 2.3 steals with a block per game (13th).
Pace rides a seven-game winning streak into the postseason, having also defeated Le Moyne its last time out on Tuesday to close out the regular season division title – the first NE10 regular season championship in the program's history. The Setters rank third in the NE10 for scoring defense (67.9 ppg) and fifth in scoring offense (76.0 ppg), while ranking second in field goal percentage defense (.405), field goal percentage (.462), assists per game (15.8), steals per game (7.2) and rebound margin (+5.2), third in three-point percentage (.366) and fourth in free-throw percentage (.731) and blocked shots per game (3.8).
Brothers Bryan and Brandon Powell lead the way for Pace with a combined 28 points per game. Bryan is averaging a team-high 14.5 points (14th NE10) on 55.1-percent shooting (5th), including 35.8% (24-for-67) from three-point distance, 6.3 rebounds (16th), 1.9 assists and a blocked shot per game, while Brandon adds 13.5 points per game on 46.2% shooting, including 39.9% (57-143) from three (11th), converting 78.8% (52-66) of his free-throws with 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
Postgrad Brandon Jacobs contributes 12.0 points per game on 42.3% shooting, including 36.4% (40-110) from deep, converting 79.5% (70-88) of his free-throws (9th) with 3.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists (2nd) and 1.7 steals per game (4th).
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 80, SW#3 Adelphi 69
Game 3: NE#4 Stonehill 58, SW#5 Le Moyne 52
Saturday, February 26
First Round
Game 4: SW#4 Saint Rose 80, NE#5 Southern New Hampshire 76
Game 5: NE#3 Saint Anselm 84, SW#6 Southern Conn. State 65
Game 6: NE#2 Franklin Pierce 86, SW#7 American International 82
Monday, February 28
Quarterfinals (hosted by higher seeds)
Game 7: NE#3 Saint Anselm (16-9, 11-8 NE10) at SW#2 New Haven (17-7, 13-6 NE10), 7 p.m.
Game 8: NE#6 Assumption (12-12, 7-12 NE10) at NE#2 Franklin Pierce (16-9, 12-7 NE10), 7 p.m.
Game 9: NE#4 Stonehill (15-11, 10-9 NE10) at SW#1 Pace (18-8, 14-5 NE10), 7:30 p.m.
Game 10: SW#4 Saint Rose (14-11, 10-9 NE10) at NE#1 Bentley (19-4, 14-5 NE10), 7:30 p.m.
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
