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The Game
Stonehill College continues its season-long four game homestand as it welcomes former Northeast-10 Conference rival Merrimack College to Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium for a Northeast Conference matchup this afternoon. The Skyhawks are off to a 3-1 start in the NEC after back-to-back wins over Wagner and Central Connecticut State here last weekend, while the Warriors are the preseason favorites in the NEC and have split their first four Conference games, looking to build off a 65-53 win over St. Francis Brooklyn in North Andover last Saturday.

Media Information
This afternoon's game is being broadcast live on SkyhawksVision 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
Stonehill finished strong, rallying from an eight-point deficit with eight minutes to play with a turned up defensive effort, key rebounds, hustle and clutch shooting to claim a 51-49 triumph over Central Connecticut State at Merkert Gymnasium last Saturday. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) led four from Stonehill in double-figures by draining four of his five three-pointers in the second half, on his way to a game-high 16 points, including 12 in the final 20-minutes, as he finished 5-for-10 from three, to go with seven rebounds, an assist and steal. Two of his triples came in the final five minutes that pushed the Skyhawks in front for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. Fifth-years Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.), Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) chipped in with ten points apiece for Stonehill. Burnett added seven rebounds, while Johnson made two free-throws to put the Skyhawks in front for good with 50-seconds remaining, after he was fouled hustling after his own miss for one of his two rebounds in the contest. Junior Kellen Amos was the lone Central Connecticut player in double figures with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including 3-for-8 from three-point distance, two rebounds and two steals.

Against the Warriors
This afternoon marks the 120th meeting all-time between these two former Northeast-10 Conference rivals - the first in the two programs' NCAA Division I eras. Stonehill holds a 74-45 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1949. The Skyhawks are 25-14 against Merrimack all-time here at Merkert Gymnasium, but the Warriors have won the last four visits, including an 88-71 victory here on November 28, 2018. Stonehill posted a 65-62 victory over Merrimack the last time they met in North Andover on February 20, 2019. Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus '06 is 6-6 over his career against Merrimack, while Warriors head coach Joe Gallo is 4-2 as a head coach against the Skyhawks.

Last Time They Met
Owen Chose drained a three-pointer with three-seconds remaining to lift Stonehill to a 65-62 victory over Merrimack at the Volpe Athletic Center on February 20, 2019. Andrew Sims erupted for a season-high 29 points in 31 minutes off the bench to lead three double-figure scorers for Stonehill. He scored 17 points in the second half, finishing 11-of-17 from the floor to go with nine rebounds, two blocked shots, two steals and an assist. Chose's game-winning three-pointer capped a ten-point game. Juvaris Hayes led three Merrimack players in double-figures with 15 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Idris Joyner contributed 13 points and seven boards. Chose's three-pointer capped a Stonehill rally from four points down (62-58) with three minutes to play. Josh Mack was the only other current member of the Skyhawks to appear in the last meeting between the two, playing 11 minutes in a starting rolem but was held scoreless while battling foul trouble. No current members of the Warriors team were on the team in 2018-19.

Turn Back the Clock
It's only been four years, but it's still fun to take a look back in time to what was going on in the world the last time Stonehill and Merrimack went head to head in North Andover, on February 20, 2019.
• It was a Wednesday.
• #1 Song in the US: "7 Rings" by Ariana Grande.
• #1 Song in the UK: "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" by Ariana Grande.
• April 15: Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire and nearly burned to the ground.
• Sept. 5: Erramatti Mangamma becomes the world's oldest living mother giving birth to twins aged 74 in India.
• Oct. 27: Tiger Woods scores a wire-to-wire 3-stroke win over Hideki Matsuyama at the inaugural Zozo Championship to tie Sam Snead's record of 82 PGA victories.
• Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus '06 is in his sixth season as head coach of his alma mater.
• I was in my tenth year at Stonehill.

Dueling Alums
Stonehill and Merrimack are both led by head coaches who are alumni of their institutions. Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus is a 2006 graduate and former student-athlete in his tenth year in charge at his alma mater. Merrimack mentor Joe Gallo is a 2004 graduate of the North Andover institution and former NE10 member, now in his seventh season at the helm. The duo are among four men's coaches in the NEC in charge of their alma maters along with Saint Francis' Rob Krimmel '00 and Central Connecticut State's Patrick Sellers '91.

Prime Performer
Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) was named an NEC Prime Performer for the second-straight week and fifth-time this season overall on Monday. He averaged 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the 2-0 NEC week for the Skyhawks, converting 14-of-15 (93.3%) free-throws for the week. Burnett paced Stonehill to Thursday's 62-55 win over Wagner as he stuffed the box score with 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half, aided by 10-of-11 shooting at the free-throw line, with seven rebounds and a career-high matching five steals - including three on three-straight Seahawk possessions to spark a 14-2 Stonehill run. Burnett also chipped in with ten points, seven boards and a steal in Saturday's 51-49 win over CCSU. Burnett and fellow fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) now share the team lead with five NEC Prime Performer selections this season and the duo have both collected NEC Player of the Week accolades once. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.)  has earned Prime Performer honors once to round out the Skyhawk selections.

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
Dec. 19: Andrew Sims
Jan. 2: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett
Jan. 9: Isaiah Burnett

Stonehill Start in Perspective
With a 3-1 record over the first two weeks of NEC play, Stonehill has tied for second-best start among league newcomers in conference history.
Five Best NEC Starts Among League Newcomers
UMBC started 4-0 (on its way to 15-0) in 1998-99
Merrimack started 3-1 (on its way to 10-1) in 2019-20
Stonehill has started 3-1 in 2022-23
Rider started 3-1 (on its way to 5-2) in 1992-93
Mount St. Mary's started 2-2 (on its way to 5-2) in 1989-90

Movin' On Up!
Fifth-year forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) enters the weekend 18 points shy of becoming the 43rd player in Stonehill history to reach teh 1,000-point plateau for their career. Sims has scored 982 points in 90 career games played as a 47.3-percent shooter for his career. He looks to become the program's first 1,000-point scorer since former teammate Owen Chose '22 surpassed the milestone at Caldwell on November 13 of last season.

Super Saturdays
Stonehill is 4-1 in its games played on Saturday after last week's 51-49 win here at Merkert Gym over Central Connecticut State. All four of the Skyhawks previous Saturday games were away from Merkert Gym, including the Skyhawks first NCAA Division I win at Army West Point (82-77), to go with an 81-79 win over Holy Cross on day one of the Tom Konchalski Classic at Fordham, before notching a 69-66 triumph at Binghamton on December 3.

Globe Mass Top 10
Stonehill fifth-year forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) was recognized by the Boston Globe on January 2 as one of the top ten players among the nine NCAA Division I men's basketball programs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Sims was ranked No. 9 by Globe men's basketball columnist Trevor Hass, while postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) received honorable mention status. Harvard's Chris Ledlum leads the list that also includes Northeastern's Jahmyl Telfort (No. 2), Noah Fernandes of UMass (No. 3), Walter Whyte of Boston University (No. 4), Makai Ashton-Langford of Boston College (No. 5), UMass Lowell's Abdoul Karim Coulibaly (No. 6), Jordan Minor from Merrimack (No. 7), Holy Cross' Gerrale Gates (No. 8) and Everette Hammond of UMass Lowell (No. 10).

Milestone Max
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) could give Stonehill two 1,000-point scorers on its roster, having scored 904 points in 78 career games, including his time at Lynn and Franklin Pierce.

Stop... Thief!
After matching his career-best with five steals for the third time in last week's win over Wagner, Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) reclaimed the NEC lead in steals with 2.8 per game, which would rank fourth nationally. His 51 thefts share the Division I lead along with Jaelen House of New Mexico and he has now recorded a steal in all 18 contests this season and 24-straight games dating back to last year. He has collected a career-high matching five thefts at Boston College on December 13 and at Binghamton on December 3 prior to Wagner on Thursday. Burnett led the NE10 with 2.3 steals per game last year, collecting his 100th career steal at Bradley on December 19. (Note that due to NCAA Division I reclassification, Stonehill does not officially appear among NCAA statistical leaders for four years)

Watch Your Valuables
Saturday's matchup with Merrimack will see the top two players among NEC steals leaders on the court at the same time - both who rank among national steals leaders in Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) the NEC leader (2.8), who also ranks fourth nationally, along with Merrimack freshman Javon Bennett (2.7 spg), who ranks eighth nationally. The duo also lead the NEC with ten steals apiece through the first four Conference games this season.

Did You Know?
Of the top 15 scorers in the NEC this season, ten are newcomers to the league. Three of those play for Stonehill in fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) who ranks fourth with 15.7 points per game, while fellow fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) ranks 11th (12.3 ppg) and postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) ranks 13th (12.2 ppg).

Home Cooking!
Albeit a small sample size of just five games, including one non-Division I opponent, Stonehill is averaging 73.4 points per game at home this season, above its season average of 68.8 ppg. The Skyhawks have shot 45.7-percent from the field at Merkert Gym this season, including 38.5% from three-point distance, compared to 43.8% from the floor and 35.3% from three for the entire season. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) has found the Merkert rims friendly in his first year as a Skyhawk, averaging 16.0 points on 47.2% shooting, including 16-for-35 (45.7%) from three.

Top 15 for I.B.
Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) ranks in the top-15 among NEC leaders in seven categories, including his Conference-best 2.8 steals per game. He ranks seventh in free-throw percentage (.778), tenth in field goal percentage (.444) and defensive rebounds (3.8), 11th in scoring (12.3 ppg) and assists (2.5) and 14th in rebounding (4.6 rpg).

Triples Duo
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) and fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) ranks second and third among NEC three-point shooting leaders, respectively. Zegarowski also ranks second in the NEC with 2.5 three-point field goals per game, connecting on 42.9-percent - tops in the NEC among shooters with 20-plus makes this season. Johnson is shooting 39.8-percent from three, while his 1.9 three-pointers per game is tied for sixth.

NE-Defense
Stonehill ranks third in the NEC for scoring defense in Conference games only, allowing 61.8 points per game in NEC play this season, ranking third in NEC field goal percentage defense (..391) as one of three in the Conference holding league opposition under 40-percent shooting, and three-point percentage defense (.309).

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.

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 closes out its its season-long four game homestand on Monday, when it hosts Fairleigh Dickinson University here on Monday for a Martin Luther King, Jr., Day NEC matchup at 7 p.m.