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The Game
Stonehill College is back on the road to open a five game road trip that will take it through its first two Northeast Conference contest as it visits Boston College for a non-conference clash at Silvio O. Conte Forum tonight. The Skyhawks are looking to bounce back from a tough 78-67 setback to Rider University at Merkert Gymnasium last Wednesday, while the Eagles look to end a four-game skein after a 77-56 loss to Villanova University at the Never Forget Classic in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday afternoon.

Media Information
Tonight's game is being broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra with Eric Gallanty (play-by-play) and Ben Altsher (analyst) calling the action, which is being produced for the ACC Network by Russ Kenn. ACCN and ACCNX can be streamed in the ESPN App. Access to both requires that your pay TV provider (cable, satellite, telco or streaming service) carries ACCN. Radio coverage by WEEI 850 AM with Josh Maurer (play-by-play) and Danya Abrams (analyst) calling the game.

Last Time Out
Rider used an 18-3 run in the final ten minutes of the second half to clinch a 78-67 victory over Stonehill at Merkert Gymnasium on Wednesday night. Seniors Mervin James and Dwight Murray, Jr. combined for 43 points to lead Rider, which posted its third straight win. James posted a double-double with game-high totals of 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting, 13 rebounds (five offensive) and five assists, while Murray, Jr., tallied 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point distance, adding five rebounds and three assists. Fifth-year guard Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) led five double-figure scorers for Stonehill, scoring 13 of his 17 points in the first half, finishing 6-of-11 from the floor, including 3-for-7 from deep, three rebounds, five assists and two steals. Classmate Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) added 12 points on 3-for-5 shooting from tree, with three rebounds and two steals, while Josh Mack (Winchester, Va.) scored a season-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, canning his two three-point attempts with two assists. Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.Y.) contributed 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Against the Eagles
Tonight marks the 16th meeting all-time between the two programs - but the first official encounter since a 98-71 Boston College victory at the Roberts Center on December 8, 1984. The Eagles have won each of the 15 previous encounters between the two in a series that dates back to 1951. Only seven of those meetings took place here in Chestnut Hill, and tonight marks the first official matchup at Conte Forum - which opened in 1988. Stonehill has only hosted BC once, that being played in Brockton in February, 1954.

George Leonard

Last Time They Met
Boston College, under the direction of longtime Division I head coach Gary Williams, cruised to a 98-71 victory over Stonehill in their last of 15 meetings prior to this season on December 8, 1984, at Roberts Center. The Eagles led by 14 (46-32) at the half behind 54.3-percent shooting, but pulled away with 52 second half points. Michael Adams led BC with 15 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals, while Dominic Pressley scored a game-high 19 points, including 15 in the first half alone, on 9-of-13 shooting, with three rebounds and five steals as the Eagles forced 23 turnovers. George Leonard led three Stonehill players in double-figures with 11 points, five rebounds and a steal before fouling out, while Tony Fiore contributed ten points, six boards and two steals. Stonehill hung in the game through much of the first half, trailing by just four (26-22) after a Leonard layup and Mike Barros tip-in with seven minutes left in the frame.

Unofficially Speaking
Boston College did host Stonehill for a preseason exhibition in head coach Chris Kraus' fourth season in charge, with the Eagles fighting their way to an 81-74 triumph here at Conte Forum on November 3, 2016. Ryan Logan '17 led three Stonehill players in double-figures with 20 points, a team-high six rebounds and an assist, while Jim Walsh '17 added 14 points, converting 7-of-9 free-throws, to go with a pair of rebounds. BC boasted a pair of 20-point scorers, led by Jerome Robinson with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the floor, with seven rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Mo Jeffers added 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and seven boards.  

Turning Back the Years
Stonehill and Boston College last met on December 8, 1984. What was going on in the world during this time:
• It was a Saturday
• Ringo Starr hosted Saturday Night Live later that night, with musical guest, Herbie Hancock
• #1 Song in the US: "Out Of Touch" by Hall & Oates
• Chris Evert-Lloyd beats Helena Suková 6-7, 6-1, 6-3 in the Australian Open final to continue streak of winning at least one major per year since 1973.
• Mark Zuckerberg (May 14) and LeBron James (December 30) both born in 1984.
• Apple Computer, Inc., unveils its revolutionary Macintosh personal computer in January.
• "Night Court" starring Harry Anderson, premieres on NBC in January and runs for nine seasons.
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain's all-time career scoring record of 31,419 points in April.
• Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen's 7th studio album "Born in the USA" and Prince releases his "Purple Rain" album in June.
• Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus was nearing his second birthday.
• I was ten years old.

Prime Performers
Stonehill fifth-year guard Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the third time this season on Monday. He led five Skyhawks in double-figures in their lone game of the week against Rider on Wednesday night by scoring 13 of his 17 points in the first half as Stonehill grabbed a ten point lead in the opening frame before settling for a four-point halftime cushion. Burnett finished shooting 6-for-11 from the floor, including 3-for-7 from three-point distance, adding three rebounds, five assists and two steals. He matches fellow fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) in collecting three NEC Prime Performer recognitions this season, with postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) earning the honors once. Burnett and Sims have also each earned NEC Player of the Week accolades this season, doing so over the first two weeks.
NEC Prime Performers:
Nov. 14: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett
Nov. 21: Isaiah Burnett
Nov. 28: Andrew Sims
Dec. 5: Andrew Sims & Max Zegarowski
Dec. 12: Isaiah Burnett

Stonehill Shooting Stars
Stonehill currently leads the Northeast Conference in field goal percentage (.461), three-point percentage (.384), free throw percentage (.811) and effective field goal percentage (.523). The Skyhawks continue to rank first in the nation in free throw percentage.

Streaking
Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) has scored in double-figures in 16-straight games played dating back to last season, including all ten games in which he has appeared this year with a team-high four 20-point outings after his game-high 22 points at Binghamton on December 3.

Stop... Thief!
Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has recorded a steal in all 11 contests to open the 2022-23 season and 17-straight games dating back to last year, including a career-high matching five thefts at Binghamton on December 3. He had four steals in the first two games of the Konchalski Classic as well as against Eastern Nazarene on November 30. Burnett now ranks second in the NEC with his 2.8 steals per game after leading the NE10 with 2.3 last year.

Shootin' Shamir
Stonehill fifth-year guard Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) ranks second in the NEC in three-point proficiency, having hit 24-of-43 for a 55.8-percent success rate. He has shot 50-percent or better from beyond the arc in seven of the Skyhawks 11 games this season. He hit 3-of-4 from deep in the Skyhawks' last-second win at Binghamton on December 3 and then made 3-of-5 against Rider on Wednesday. Johnson drained 8-of-11 threes for a 72.7 percent success rate in games against Providence and Holy Cross. He drilled 5-of-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's 2.2 three-point field goals per game rank fourth in the NEC.

Taking Their Charity
Despite an 8-for-14 (57.1%) shooting effort at the free-throw line against Rider last week, Stonehill is still shooting an NEC-best 81.1-percent from the free throw line this season, nearly eight-percent higher than Fairleigh Diickenson (73.9%) in second. The Skyhawks have dipped to sixth nationally, but is still higher than the NEC single-season free-throw percentage record of 78.2 percent, established by CCSU in 2018-19. Stonehill currently has three players ranked in the NEC top-ten in free throw accuracy, led by postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.), who has hit an NEC-high 90-percent of his attempts (27-for-30). Fifth-years Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) is ranked fifth and Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) tenth, shooting 85.5-percent and 75%, respectively. (Note that due to NCAA Division I reclassification, Stonehill does not officially appear among NCAA statistical leaders for four years)

Dishing it Out
With multiple assists in six-straight games and nine of 11 games this season overall, fifth-year guard Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has moved up to sixth among NEC assists leaders with his 3.1 per game. He has averaged 3.7 assists per game over the last six games, including five per game over the last three, with a season-high six at Binghamton on December 3. Burnett has also moved into seventh among NEC leaders for assist/turnover ratio at 1.2, turning the ball over just 28 times in 11 games.

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.  

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 will head midwest for a pair of non-conference matchups at Bradley University next Monday at 8 p.m. (EDT), before visiting Valparaiso University two days later on Wednesday, December 21, at 1 p.m., to close out the pre-holiday schedule. The Skyhawks next home game is Thursday, January 5, for its third Northeast Conference game of the season against Wagner College at Merkert Gymnasium at 7 p.m., that will open a season-long four game home stand.