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The Game
Stonehill College closes out its weekend in New York City at the Tom Konchalski Classic by facing host Fordham University at Rose Hill Gymnasium tonight. The Skyhawks split their first two games of the event, knocking off Holy Cross 81-79 on Saturday night, before being edged by Illinois-Chicago here last night, 77-71. The Rams are 2-0 at its home tournament, rallying for a 79-65 win over UIC on Saturday, before rolling past Holy Cross 67-53 last night.

Tom Konchalski Classic
In the 100-plus year history of basketball in New York City, there have existed few characters more unique and beloved than Tom Konchalski. Soft-spoken, slender and standing at 6-foot-6, the scout extraordinaire sat quietly at the top of high school gyms around the city and scribbled notes onto a large yellow legal pad. The words on that paper, which were then transcribed with an electric typewriter and mailed to coaches around the country, contained some of the most sought-after insights in the world of college basketball. Konchalski, who graduated from Fordham in 1968 and passed away in February of 2021 at the age of 74, will be honored by his alma mater with the inaugural Tom Konchalski Classic, set to begin on Saturday in the Rose Hill Gym and continue with six total games over the course of four days. In addition to its namesake, the inaugural Tom Konchalski Classic will honor another iconic figure in New York Basketball, as the tournament's most valuable player award will be named the Jim O'Connell MVP Trophy. O'Connell, who passed away in 2018, spent 40 years as a college basketball writer for the Associated Press, covering every Final Four from Magic-Bird in 1979 until 2017. O'Connell, known to many simply as "Oc," received the profession's highest honor, the Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2002, the same year in which he was inducted into the United States Basketball Writers Association's Hall of Fame.

Tom Konchalski Classic Schedule
Saturday, November 19
UIC at Fordham, 5 p.m.
Holy Cross vs. Stonehill, 7:30 p.m.

Monday, November 21
UIC 77, Stonehill 71
Fordham 67, Holy Cross 53

Tuesday, November 22
UIC vs. Holy Cross, 4 p.m.
Stonehill at Fordham, 7 p.m.

Media Information
Tonight's game will be broadcast via ESPN+ and SNY with Andrew Bogusch (PBP) and Andrew Posadas (analyst) calling the action. Radio coverage on WFUV 90.7 FM and WFUVSports.org with Thomas Aiello (PBP) and Mike Calamari (Color) on the call.

Against the Rams
Tonight marks the first ever meeting between Stonehill and Fordham.

Player of the Week
Stonehill fifth-year guard Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has been named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week the Conference office announced yesterday. It marks the second-straight week to open the season a member of the Stonehill men's basketball program has earned the recognition after fellow fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) collected the honor last Monday. Burnett earns the first weekly award of his career, and has been named an NEC Prime Performer for the second-straight week, after averaging 20 points per game on 64.7-percent shooting (11-for-17), draining both three-point attempts, converting 16-of-19 (84.2%) of his free-throws in a 1-1 week for the Skyhawks. He also contributed 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.5 steals and a blocked shot per game. Burnett scored a career-high 30 points on 7-of-9 shooting, converting 15-of-17 free-throws, in Saturday night's 81-79 victory over Holy Cross, adding three rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot. He opened the week with ten points on 4-of-8 shooting, four rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and steal at Providence on Tuesday.

Bright Lights
The Northeast Conference announced that Stonehill's February 2 matchup with Saint Francis (Pa.) University will be broadcast live on ESPN3 through the NEC's 26-game television package. The matchup at Merkert Gym is among 21 games that will be featured on ESPN networks. Now in his 23rd season, Dave Popkin serves as the primary play-by-play announcer on men's broadcasts, with Paul Dottino (24th year) filling in. Tim Capstraw (24th year) and Joe DeSantis (16th year) are slated to split color analyst duties. Pack Network and Northeast Sports Network (NSN) will handle production duties for the league's ESPN3/ESPN+ package.

Skyhawk Efficiency
Stonehill has displayed quite the efficient offense through its first six games.
The Skyhawks lead the NEC in field goal percentage (.495), effective field goal percentage (.566) and free throw percentage (.837), and rank second in three-point percentage (.381).

Stop... Thief!
Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has recorded a steal in five straight contests to open the 2022-23 season and 12-straight games dating back to last year. He has four steals in each game of the Konchalski Classic this weekend. Collectively against Holy Cross on Saturday, Stonehill had ten thefts, gathering a steal on 10.8 percnt of Holy Cross' possessions. Burnett now leads all NEC with a steal rate of 5.0 percent, averaging 2.6 per game after leading the NE10 with 2.3 last year.

Shootin' Shamir
Fifth-year guard Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) caught fire from three-point range last week, hitting 8-11 for a 72.7 percent success rate. He drilled 5-7 as part of a career-high 15-point night at Providence, then sank 3-4 in the Skyhawks' 81-79 win against Holy Cross. Johnson leads the NEC in three-point accuracy at 56.0 percent (14-of-25), ranking second with 2.8 three-point field goals per game.

In Transition
Stonehill announced it had accepted an invitation to join the Northeast Conference and commence a four-year transition to full NCAA Division I membership on April 5. The Skyhawks started their four-year transition on July 1 and will earn full NCAA Division I membership in 2026-27. At the June NEC meetings, the Conference presidents announced a shift in the waiting period for automatic qualifier sports from competing for NEC postseason championships from four to two years, making Stonehill eligible to compete in the NEC postseason starting in 2024-25.

Proud History
Stonehill won the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup six times, finishing in the top three in the final standings 15 of the last 17 years. Stonehill was one of just ten institutions nationwide to receive the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement, recognizing athletic departments with an Academic Success rating of 90-percent or better, each of the first ten years of the program's existence. The College ranks No. 98 in the category of National Liberal Arts Schools by U.S. News & World Report and No. 94 for the Best Value category.

Hoop History
Stonehill men's basketball earned 15 NCAA Division II Tournament bids over its history, the last was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Stonehill were charter members of the Northeast-10 Conference, winning the first two tournament championships in 1981 and '82, finishing its time in the Conference with four postseason titles and six regular season championships.

Preseason Prognostications
Stonehill was picked to finish ninth in its first Northeast Conference season by the league's head coaches. Merrimack received six of the eight first place votes to hold the pole position atop the preseason poll, followed by Sacred Heart with two first place votes. Saint Francis (Pa.) follows in third, while Wagner is picked fourth and received the final first place vote.  

Tough Slate
Stonehill has assembled a tough non-conference slate in its inaugural Division I season, featuring opponents from the Big East  (2 - UConn, Providence), ACC (1 - BC), Missouri Valley (3 - UIC, Bradley, Valpo), Patriot League (2 - Army, Holy Cross), America East (2 - UMass Lowell, Binghamton), MAAC (2 - Quinnipiac, Rider), A-10 (1 - Fordham) leading up to its inaugural NEC slate around the New Year. 12 of the Skyhawks 15 non-conference games will also be played on the road.  

Getting Social
Fans and media members of Stonehill athletics have multiple social media outlets to get updates on all 23 varsity programs. The department's Facebook page is www.facebook.com/stonehillskyhawks, and you can also follow @GoStonehill on Twitter and @stonehillskyhawks via Instagram! You can also search for Stonehill men's basketball on Facebook, follow the team's Twitter account via @StonehillBball as well as head coach Chris Kraus @CoachChrisKraus, and its new Instagram feed @stonehillbball. 

Up Next
Stonehill is back in action on Sunday when it visits the University of Massachusetts Lowell for a non-conference matchup at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks return to Merkert Gymnasium next Wednesday, November 30, to host Eastern Nazarene College at 7 p.m.