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The Game
Stonehill College closes out the home portion of its first Northeast Conference slate in its inaugural NCAA Division I season by hosting Long Island University for an NEC matchup on Senior Night on Paula Sullivan Court at Merkert Gymnasium tonight. The Skyhawks are winners of four of their last five and six of eight after Saturday's 62-61 victory here at Merkert Gym over St. Francis Brooklyn, while the Sharks have lost their last four after Saturday's 58-46 setback at Wagner College.

Saluting Our Seniors!
Prior to tonight's game, Stonehill will take a moment to recognize its four fifth-year seniors who are playing their final home game tonight. Classmates Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.), Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.), Josh Mack (Winchester, Va.) and Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) have all made an impact at Stonehill on and off the court. The quartet have been a part of a program that has posted 60 wins, with an NCAA Tournament bid and traversed both a pandemic and first year of the College's transition to the NCAA Division I level.

Media Information
Tonight'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. 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. Campus radio coverage by WSHL 91.3 FM also available locally.

Last Time Out
Stonehill shot 52.4-percent in the second half and took advantage of 17 Saint Francis Brooklyn turnovers in recording a 62-51 bounce back win in Northeast Conference action at Merkert Gymnasium on Saturday. Fifth-years Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) combined for 44 points to lead Stonehill to its third-straight home win and reclaim a position atop the NEC standings, along with Merrimack, with three games remaining. Sims powered the Skyhawks with a career-high 30 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-3 from three-point distance, while converting 10-of-12 free-throws to go with seven rebounds. Burnett filled the box score with 14 points, five steals, four rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Junior Josiah Harris led St. Francis Brooklyn with a double-double of 15 points and ten rebounds, finishing 5-of-9 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the line, with three assists.

Against the Sharks
Tonight marks the second meeting all-time between the two programs. Stonehill holds a 1-0 edge in the series after posting a 73-66 victory in Brooklyn on January 20 that sparked a five-game NEC win streak, with six NEC wins over the Skyhawks last seven Conference contests, to move into first place in the league standings. Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus is 1-0 in his career against LIU, while Sharks head coach Rod Strickland is 0-1 all-time against the Skyhawks.   

Last Time They Met
Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) matched his season-high with 24 points and powered Stonehill to a 73-66 victory over LIU in NEC action at Steinberg Wellness Center January 20. Sims made 11-of-13 shots from the floor, including his lone three-point try, as he scored 13 of his season-high matching 24 points in the second half, connecting on 6-of-7 shots over the final 20-minutes alone. He filled out the boxscore with a game-high seven rebounds, adding three assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half as he and Sims helped Stonehill build a 12-point (45-33) halftime advantage. Burnett added five assists and two steals. Andre Washington and Marko Maletic each netted 17 points to pace LIU. Maletic was 3-for-6 from long range and added six rebounds, while Washington contributed four assists and three boards. Both also scored 12 of their 17 points in the first half.

Posting Up
While tonight marks the second 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.

Prime Performer
Stonehill fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the fourth-straight week and team-leading ninth time this season overall on Monday. He averaged 17.0 points on 68.8-percent  shooting (11-for-16), with 4.5 rebounds and an assist and steal per game in a 1-1 week for the Skyhawks. He capped the week with a career-high 30 points, including 24 in the second half in Saturday's 62-51 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-3 from three-point distance, while converting 10-of-12 free-throws to go with seven rebounds. Sims, also an NEC Player of the Week once this season, leads four Skyhawks to earn Prime Performer status this year, with fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) following Sims' nine selections with seven of his own, including a Player of the Week award, while postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) has earned Prime Performer status twice, and fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) once.

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
Feb. 6: Andrew Sims & Isaiah Burnett
Feb. 13: Andrew Sims

Eye on the Prize
Stonehill seeks to become the fourth Northeast Conference newcomer, and just the second transitioning Division I program, to capture the NEC regular season championship and first since Merrimack did so in its first NCAA Division I season in 2019-20. The Skyhawks share first place in the NEC standings with Merrimack, a half game ahead of Fairleigh Dickinson, with three league games remaining.
First-Year NEC Regular Season Champions:
1992-93: Rider (14-4)
1998-99: Maryland-Baltimore County (17-3)
2019-20: Merrimack (14-4) - first year of NCAA I transition period

NEC Stands Up Podcast Celebrating Black History Month
Stonehill fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.), a leader on the Athletics Task Force to Address Racial Injustice, participated in an NEC Stands Up podcast, hosted by Adrian Barajas from the Conference office, with Central Connecticut State men's basketball head coach Pat Sellers about black history in the NEC back when Sellars was a student-athlete and what can be done to educate everyone on the subject. The podcast dropped on Monday and can be accessed via the NEC YouTube site or through Apple Podcasts and Spotify, as well as through stonehillskyhawks.com.

30 for 30
Stonehill fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) played arguably his best game against a DI opponent against St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday. He poured in a career-high 30 points by shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from inside the arc - the only time this season he's made all of his 2s in a game - and 2-of-3 from deep. According to Synergy, Sims was a true three-level scorer in the victory, draining two corner threes, one long mid-range jumper, three post up buckets and two at the rim. Sims was declared the "KenPom MVP" for the game by registering an offensive rating of 152 (100 is considered average) and scoring 48.4 percent of the Skyhawks' points.

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 hits the road for the final two games of its inaugural NCAA Division I and Northeast Conference season, starting Saturday at Central Connecticut State University at 1 p.m.