Purchase Tickets

Click here for live stats

Click here for live video

The Game
Stonehill College returns to Merkert Gymnasium for the first time in three weeks to host Eastern Nazarene College for a non-conference matchup on Paula Sullivan Court tonight. The Skyhawks come off a six game road trip, in which it won its first two NCAA Division I games in program history, having dropped their last three after a 73-59 setback at UMass Lowell on Sunday. The Lions snapped a run of three-straight losses with an 86-63 victory over Johnson & Wales their last time out last Tuesday. While tonight's game will count towards Stonehill overall record and stats, Eastern Nazarene has opted to mark the game as an exhibition on its schedule.

Media Information
Tonight's game is being broadcast live on Skyhawks Vision and NEC Front Row. Charlie Bergeron (PBP) and Brian Buckley (analyst) have the call of the action for tonight. The broadcast can be accessed via stonehillskyhawks.com through its NEC Front Row portal (necfrontrow.com/schools/SC) or through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku via the NEC On the Run App.

Last Time Out
UMass Lowell placed five in double-figures and held off a late Stonehill push to secure a 73-59 victory at the Costello Athletic Center on Sunday. Senior Abdoul Karim Coulibaly notched a double-double and junior Quinton Mincey scored a team-high 15 points off the bench to lead a balanced UMass Lowell effort with five in double-figures in the win. Coulibaly totaled 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds (five offensive), finishing 7-for-10 from the floor, while Mincey made 5-of-8 shots off the bench, including 3-for-4 from three, with eight boards and a steal in 13 minutes of play. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) led Stonehill with a game-high 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 4-for-6 from long range. Freshman Ethan Meuser (Shavertown, Pa.) added season-highs of ten points, six rebounds (four offensive), two blocked shots and a steal off the bench, while fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) contributed 11 points, aided by 5-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line, with two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. UMass Lowell held a 17-point lead (63-46) after a free-throw from postgrad Everette Hammond with 4:35 to go, but Stonehill reeled off an 11-3 run over the next three minutes to close within nine (66-57) after a Zegarowski three-pointer with 1:41 still to play. The Skyhawks had a chance to close the gap further after a UML turnover, but the River Hawks held and a Max Brooks dunk after two free-throws by postgrad Mikey Watkins reclaimed a 13-point cushion (70-57) with 53-seconds to play and the hosts did enough at the line the rest of the way to seal the win.

Against the Lions
Tonight marks the first ever meeting between these two programs, despite the two schools separated by just 19 miles.

Prime Performer
Stonehill fifth-year forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel N.J.) was recognized by the NEC as a Prime Performer for the second time this season on Monday. After first collecting the weekly recognition along with NEC Player of the Week accolades on November 14, Sims earned the award again after earning All-Tournament Team honors at the Tom Konchalski Classic last week as he averaged 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals over the last two games of the event hosted by Fordham. He matched a season-high with 24 points and set a season-best with nine boards against UIC on Monday and then followed that up with 16 points, a career-high seven assists, five rebounds and career-best three steals against host Fordham on Tuesday, before missing Sunday's finale of the week at UMass Lowell. Sims and fellow fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) have both collected NEC Prime Performer recognition twice this season, with each also being named NEC Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks to open the season.
NEC Prime Performers:
Nov. 14: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett
Nov. 21: Isaiah Burnett
Nov. 28: Andrew Sims

Konchalski Classic All-Tournament Team
Stonehill fifth-years Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) were both named to the All-Tournament Team at the Tom Konchalski Classic. Sims averaged 18 points per game, aided by 90.5-percent (19-for-21) shooting from the free-throw line, with 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 34.8-minutes per game over the Skyhawks three contests. He totaled 24 points and a season-high nine rebounds against UIC and added 16 points, five rebounds and career-bests of seven assists and three steals against Fordham. Burnett averaged 14.0 points on 42.9-percent shooting (9-for-21), converting 23-of-27 (85.2%) free-throws with 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 3.0 steals in 32.1 minutes per game. He scored a career-high 30 points on 7-of-9 shooting, converting 15-of-17 free-throws in the win over Holy Cross with three rebounds and four steals.

Taking Their Charity
Stonehill is shooting an astounding 84.7 percent from the free throw line over the first eight games of the season, hitting 116-of-137 from the stripe. That marks leads the nation by a slim margin over Coastal Carolina, which has converted at a 84.5 percent rate. Last week, the Skyhawks went a perfect 11-11 from the line at Fordham and shot 22-for-24 (91.7%) from the line over its last two games. The NEC single-season record for free-throw percentage is 78.2 percent, established by CCSU in 2018-19. Stonehill currently has three players ranked in the NEC top-seven in free throw accuracy, led by postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.), who has hit 91.3 percent of his attempts to tie for second in the NEC. Fifth-years Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) is ranked fifth and Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) seventh, shooting 88.2-percent and 78.8%, respectively. (Note that due to NCAA Division I reclassification, Stonehill does not officially appear among NCAA statistical leaders for four years)

What a String
Including it's perfect 11-for-11 free-throw shooting effort at Fordham last Tuesday, Stonehill converted a string of 22-straight free-throws as a team, converting its last three against UIC on Monday and then first eight at UMass Lowell on Sunday. In addition to its top three free-throw shooters above, two more players have not missed a free-throw attempt so far this season, but have not had enough attempts to qualify. Postgrad Cole Bergan (Aberdeen, S.D.) is 8-for-8 from the line, while freshman Ethan Meuser (Shavertown, Pa.) is 7-for-7.

A Team Effort
Seven different players have led Stonehill in rebounding over its first eight games this season. Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) leads the way having led the Skyhawks in three games, with Stonehill posting a 1-2 mark in those games.

New England Scoring Leaders
Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) ranks second among Division I student-athletes in New England with his team-high 17.4 points per game. Harvard's Chris Ledlum is averaging a New England-best 18.7 points.

Skyhawk Efficiency
Stonehill has displayed quite the efficient offense through its first eight games. The Skyhawks are second in the NEC in field goal percentage (.456), while leading the Conference in free throw percentage (.847), and three-point percentage (.354).

Streaking
Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) has scored in double-figures in 13-straight games played dating back to last season, including all seven games in which he has appeared this year as well as his back-to-back 20-point games against Quinnipiac (24) and Army (21).

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.  

Inside the Roster
Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus '06 returns ten letterwinners, including three starters from his 2021-22 team that finished 15-12, including 10-9 in the NE10, reaching the Conference quarterfinals.
Stonehill's inaugural Division I roster includes:
• Four fifth-year players
• Three new transfers, including two postgrad transfers
• Two Division I transfers, including fifth-year returnee Isaiah Burnett (Navy) and newcomer Thatcher Stone (William & Mary)
• No seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and two freshmen.

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 heads back out on the road on Saturday for a non-conference matchup at Binghamton University in Central New York at 4 p.m. The Skyhawks return to Merkert Gym next Wednesday, December 7, to host Rider University at 7 p.m.