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The Game
Stonehill College opens a three-game road trip over the next six days as it visits Long Island University for a Northeast Conference matchup inside Steinberg Wellness Center tonight. The Skyhawks are looking to bounce back from back to back NEC setbacks at home last weekend against NEC preseason favorites Merrimack and current Conference leaders FDU at Merkert Gym. The Sharks have dropped their last six and are still seeking their first NEC win after a 73-66 setback to Brooklyn neighbors St. Francis Brooklyn here on Monday night.

Media Information
Tonight's game is being broadcast live on NEC Front Row. Gregg Caserta (play-by-play) and Pat Boyle (analyst) have the call of the action for tonight for LIU. 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
Fairleigh Dickinson took over sole possession of first place in the Northeast Conference standings with a 65-57 victory over Stonehill at Merkert Gymnasium on Monday. The loss spoiled a milestone night for Stonehill fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.), who became the 43rd player in program history to reach the 1,000-career point plateau. Postgrads Demetre Roberts and Grant Singleton combined for 39 points to lead the Knights to their sixth-straight win. Roberts scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, aided by 10-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line, to go with three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Singleton added 18 points, including 14 in the first half, connecting on 4-of-7 three-pointers, with six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) led Stonehill with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-for-8 from three-point distance, with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) added 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three, with two boards, two assists and a steal.

250 for Coach Kraus
Tonight's game at LIU marks the 250th game in charge for head coach Chris Kraus '06. In his tenth year at the helm of his alma mater, Kraus has posted a 137-112 (.550) career record and participated in his 450th game associated with the College (student-athlete, assistant coach and head coach) against Wagner on January 5. Kraus' 249 games as a head coach at Stonehill ranks third all-time in program history behind Ray Pepin (312) and David McLaughlin (288).

Against the Sharks
Tonight marks the first meeting all-time between Stonehill and LIU.

Posting Up
While tonight marks the first meeting all-time between these two programs, Stonehill did have a series history with LIU Post and formerly C.W. Post dating back to 1968, before it merged its athletic department with the flagship LIU prior to the 2019-20 academic year. The Skyhawks posted an 81-51 victory over LIU Post the last time they met on January 5, 2019, in Easton, Mass.

Lucky Day
Stonehill has won its last five games played on January 20 dating back to the 2005 season. While the last two wins in that stretch (80-63 vs. New Haven & 77-60 at Adelphi) were more one-sided results, the streak started with three-straight one-possession wins against Franklin Pierce (72-71 in 2007), at Pace (59-56, 2008) and over American International (56-55, 2010). The Skyhawks last January 20 loss was at Merkert Gym against Le Moyne (82-61) in 2005. Three of Stonehil's last six January 20 opponents have been from New York (Le Moyne, Pace, Adelphi), with New Haven just up I-95 from NYC.

Milestone on the Number
Fifth-year forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) became the 43rd player in Stonehill history to reach the 1,000-point plateau for their career with his six points against FDU on Monday night. He reached the milestone on the number with a post move in the paint with 3:02 left in the game, a basket that pulled the Skyhawks within three points at the time. Sims has scored 1,000 points in 92 career games played as a 46.4-percent shooter for his career. He could move up as far as into the Top 40 on Stonehill's career scoring list with a season average scoring performance tonight.

Prime Performer
Stonehill postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) was named an NEC Prime Performer for the second time this season on Wednesday. He led the Skyhawks with 14.0 points on 60.0-percent shooting from the floor and a 50-percent success rate from three-point territory (6-for-12), while adding 6.0 rebounds over two games. Zegarowski, who also recevied Prime Performer recognition on December 5, scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed a season-best ten boards against Merrimack for his first double-double in a Stonehill uniform on Saturday. He chipped in 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal against FDU on Monday. Fifth-years  Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) 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. Zegarowski is the only other Skyhawk to earn the honors in the program's inaugural NEC season.

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
Jan. 18: Max Zegarowski

Milestone Max
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) is closing in on giving Stonehill two 1,000-point scorers on its roster, having scored 932 points in 80 career games, including his time at Lynn and Franklin Pierce. Zegarowski scored eight points in five games at Lynn University in 2018-19, before playing 55 games over three seasons at former NE10 divisional foe Franklin Pierce University from 2019-22, where he scored 677 points, including 431 points in 2021-22 to help the Ravens to an NCAA Tournament bid. He has totaled 247 points in 20 games at Stonehill this season.

New Threads
Stonehill unveiled a sharp new gray uniform during Monday's matchup with FDU at Merkert Gym on Monday. The Skyhawks alternate jersey features purple and white striped trim. " Skyhawks" adorns the front of the jersey in purple with white trim for the first time over the typical "Stonehill" lettering, with purple numbers with white trim.

Stop... Thief!
Stonehill fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has collected at least one steal in all 20 games this season and in 26-straight games dating back to the 2021-22 season. He shares the NEC lead in steals with 2.7 per game, which also ranks sixth nationally, while his NEC-high 54 steals this season is the second-highest total in Division I basketball this season - behind only New Mexico's Jaelen House. He has collected multiple steals in 16 games this season, including a career-high matching five thefts at Boston College (12/13), at Binghamton (12/3) and against Wagner (1/5). Burnett is averaging 2.2 steals per game in NEC play so far, ranking second in the Conference, after leading 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)

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 2.7 steals per game. He ranks fifth in free-throw percentage (.781), 10th in defensive rebounds (3.9), 11th in scoring (12.4 ppg) and field goal percentage (.449), 12th in assists (2.4) and 14th in rebounding (4.6 rpg).

Triples Duo
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) and fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) both ranks among the NEC's leading three-point shooters. Zegarowski is second in the Conference with 2.6 three-point field goals per game as well as with his 43.6-percent accuracy from beyond the arc - tops among NEC three-point shooters with over 100 attempts. Johnson is ranked sixth with 1.95 three-pointers per game, while ranking tenth in three-point percentage at 37.9% - fifth among those with 100 attempts.

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 second in NEC field goal percentage defense (.394) as one of two in the Conference holding league opposition under 40-percent shooting, and three-point percentage defense (.301).

Sims City
Fifth-year forward Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) is ranked sixth among NEC scoring leaders with his team-best 15.0 points per game. Sims has scored 20-plus points five times this season, including his game-high 20 at Boston College, having netted a season-best 24 points against Quinnipiac (11/10) and UIC (11/21). Sims is tied for fourth in the NEC for field goal percentage (.464).

Taking Their Charity
Stonehill is shooting an NEC-best 76.2-percent from the free throw line this season. Two Skyhawks are ranked in the NEC top 12 in free-throw accuracy in fifth-years Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) and Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.), with Burnett ranking fifth at 78.1-percent and Sims 12th at 74.5%. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) is shooting 86.4-percent from the line, (38-for-44) but needs more attempts to qualify.

Even Better in the N-E-C
Fifth-year guard Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) has made 27-of-30 free-throw attempts (90-percent) through Stonehill's first six NEC games to lead the Conference.

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 remains on the road this weekend as it continues a three game road swing at Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday at 6 p.m. Stonehill returns to Merkert Gym on Saturday, January 28, to host Sacred Heart University at 2 p.m.