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The Game
The bright ESPN lights shine on Merkert Gymnasium tonight as Stonehill College hosts Saint Francis (Pa.) University for a Northeast Conference battle on Paula Sullivan Court. The Skyhawks have moved into sole possession of second place in the NEC standings with three-straight Conference wins after closing out the month of January with an 82-81 triumph over Sacred Heart here at Merkert Gym on Saturday, while the Red Flash have dropped two straight following an 88-74 setback at Central Connecticut State University on Saturday.

Black History Month Tip Off
Stonehill College's Athletics Task Force to Address Racial Injustice is proud to sponsor the first men's and women's basketball games of February as a celebration of Black History Month. The Skyhawks will be wearing special commemorative One Hill warmup shirts in recognition of Equality and the Task Force, along with both basketball programs have produced video packages expressing what Black History Month means to them and how athletics can help to promote a diversity an inclusion. In addition to tonight's men's basketball game, the women's basketball program will hold its Equity and Inclusion Awareness Game on Saturday against St. Francis Brooklyn at 2 p.m.

Media Information
Tonight's will be broadcast live on ESPN3 through the NEC's 26-game television package, along with NEC Front Row. Now in his 24th season, Paul Dottino (play-by-play) will have the call of the action, alongside Joe DeSantis (analyst) in his 16th year. Pack Network will handle production duties for the matchup that is among 21 games that will be featured on ESPN networks in the NEC this season. Campus radio coverage by WSHL 91.3 FM is also available with Chris Cassidy and Christopher Robbins calling the action.

Last Time Out
Stonehill shot over 77-percent from the field in the second half to erase a seven-point halftime deficit and record an 82-81 decision over Sacred Heart for its third-straight Northeast Conference win at Merkert Gymnasium on Saturday. Fifth-years Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) and Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) each scored a game-high 23 points to lead Stonehill into sole possession of second place in the NEC standings in its inaugural NCAA Division I season. Burnett stuffed the box score with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocked shots as he made 8-of-15 shots, including 4-for-9 from three-point distance, for his fourth 20-point game of the season, Sims made 9-of-13 shots and added three rebounds, an assist and steal in his seventh 20-point outing of the season, finishing just a point shy of his season-best. Junior Nico Galette led a trio of Sacred Heart players that finished with 18 points, posting a double-double by adding a game-high 13 rebounds to his 18-point game on 6-of-14 shooting, including 3-for-6 from three, with four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

Against the Red Flash
Tonight marks the second of two regular season meetings between Stonehill and Saint Francis and the second meeting all-time between the two programs. The Red Flash won the inaugural meeting between the two programs in Loretto, Pennsylvania, back on New Year's Eve with a 73-72 decision, which marks Stonehill's lone road loss in its inaugural NEC season. Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus, '06 is 0-1 now all-time against Saint Francis as the Red Flash make their first visit to Easton, while Rob Krimmel is 1-0 all-time against the Skyhawks.  

Last Time They Met
Josh Cohen drained two free-throws with five seconds on the clock to cap a Saint Francis comeback from an eight-point deficit with five minutes to play in a 73-72 triumph over Stonehill at DeGol Arena on New Year's Eve. Cohen's clutch free-throws capped an 18-point game on 6-of-10 shooting, finishing 6-for-9 from the free-throw line, to go with nine rebounds and three assists as the 6-10 forward drew ten fouls while battling his own foul troubles in the second half. The two winning free-throws were in contrast for a Stonehill team that would rue seven misses at the line in the second half, including three in the closing 92-seconds. Landon Moore added 15 points for Saint Francis, all of which came in the final 5:28, with four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) led three from Stonehill in double-figures by scoring 15 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Classmate Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) added 18 points, including ten after halftime, on 7-of-13 shooting.

Dueling Alums
Stonehill and Saint Francis 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. Saint Francis mentor Rob Krimmel is a 2000 graduate of the Loretto, Pennsylvania, University where he played for the Red Flash. The duo are among four men's coaches in the NEC in charge of their alma maters along with Central Connecticut State's Patrick Sellers, '91 and Merrimack;s Joe Gallo '04.

Sims

Burnett

Prime Performers
Stonehill fifth-years Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) were both named Prime Performers by the Northeast Conference on Monday. Sims averaged 17.0 points on 50-percent shooting (13-for-26), including 3-for-4 from three-point range, with 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in the Skyhawks 1-1 week. He posted his seventh 20-point game of the season with a game-high matching 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting in Saturday's 82-81 win over Sacred Heart after totaling 11 points at Hartford on Wednesday, connecting on all three shots from three, with three rebounds and three assists. Burnett averaged 13.5 points on 40.9% (9-22) shooting, with 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game for the week for Stonehill. He stuffed the boxscore in Saturday's win over Sacred Heart with a game-high tying 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-for-9 from three, to go along with six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Sims leads the Skyhawks with seven Prime Performer selections, while Burnett has been honored for the sixth time this season. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) has earned Prime Performer status twice this season, while fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) is the fourth Skyhawk to earn the recognition this year with his first pick last week.

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
Jan. 24: Andrew Sims & Shamir Johnson
Jan. 30: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett

Milestone Max
Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) is closing in on giving Stonehill two 1,000-point scorers on its roster, entering tonight's game 20 points shy of reaching the milestone. He has scored 980 points in 84 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 295 points in 24 games at Stonehill this season.

Ringing in the New Year!
Stonehill finished its January schedule with a 5-3 record, including 5-2 in the NEC. The Skyhawks shot 44.5% from the floor for the month, which matches its season average, while holding opponents to 63.8 points per game, compared to 71.8 points per game for the season.  

Taking Attendance
After its season-high crowd of 2,076 for Saturday's game against Sacred Heart, Stonehill has risen to third in the Northeast Conference's attendance charts, averaging 754.0 fans per game through its first eight home games. The Skyhawks are averaging 868.0 fans per game in its five NEC games at Merkert Gym.   

Drawing Up Something Good
Something Chris Kraus '06 has done exceptionally well in 2022-23 is get his team quality opportunities to score coming out of time outs. According to Synergy, Stonehill leads the NEC with 0.92 points per possession (ppp) and a 52.9 percent effective field goal percentage (eFG) in its sets immediately after a time out. Of Kraus' group, fifth-years Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) with a 54.9% eFG, and Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) at 60.3% eFG, along with postgrad Max Zegarowski's (South Hamilton, Mass.) with a 56.9% eFG have been particularly lethal after the prolonged stoppages in play. This isn't anything new for the Kraus-led Skyhawks, having finished No. 2 in Division II with 1.101 points per possession after timeouts during the 2019-20 season.

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 is right back in action on Saturday, when it visits St. Francis Brooklyn for a Northeast Conference matchup at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks return to Merkert Gym on Saturday, February 11, to host the Terriers at 2 p.m.