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The Game
Stonehill College closes out its inaugural NCAA Division I season aiming to stamp its claim to at least a share of the Northeast Conference regular season championship as it visits Wagner College for an NEC clash inside the Spiro Sports Center tonight. The Skyhawks are winners of five of their last seven to put themselves in the NEC title conversation, but are looking to bounce back from a tough 94-90 triple overtime setback at Central Connecticut State University on Saturday. The Seahawks have dropped two-straight after Saturday's 66-48 loss to FDU here on Staten Island.

Media Information
Tonight's game will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row, with Joey Wahler (play-by-play) and Ryan Peters (analyst) calling the action for Wagner College. 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
Central Connecticut State captured a fourth-straight win with a 94-90 triple-overtime triumph over Stonehill in NEC action at Detrick Gymnasium on Saturday. Jay Rodgers led five from Central Connecticut State in double-figures with 24 points, including 17 in the first half, on 8-of-15 shooting, with three assists, while Kellen Amos added 12 points, including nine over the three overtime sessions, with six rebounds and two assists. Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) paced four from Stonehill in double-figures with a game-high 26 points, converting all eight free-throws, with seven rebounds and three assists. Postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) posted his second double-double of the season (fifth career) with 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while fifth-year Josh Mack (Winchester, Va.) matched his season-high with 16 points off the bench, including 14 on 4-of-5 shooting (3-for-3 from three) in the first half, three steals, two assists and two boards.

What's the Scenario?
Stonehill (10-5) enters tonight's game, its final of the season with the NEC schedule bye on Saturday, a half game behind NEC preseason favorites Merrimack (10-4) in the Conference standings, and a half game ahead of FDU (9-5). The Skyhawks need a win tonight and a Merrimack loss in one of its last two games (vs CCSU, at LIU) this week to clinch a share of the NEC regular season title. The Skyhawks could claim the regular season championship outright with a win, two Merrimack losses and an FDU loss in one of its last two (at Saint Francis, vs. St. Francis Brooklyn). A Stonehill loss would still leave the Skyhawks capable of claiming a share of the title, but would require two Merrimack losses and one FDU loss. The NEC regular season concludes on Saturday.

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.
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

Against the Seahawks
Tonight marks the fourth meeting all-time between these two programs, the second of two regular season encounters between the two. Stonehill holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series which dates back to 1973 after notching a 62-58 victory in the first NEC meeting of the two in Easton, Mass., on January 5. Tonight marks Stonehill's third visit all-time to Staten Island, but the first meeting here inside the Spiro Center. The two teams have split the two previous meetings here on the Island, with the Seahawks posting a 61-59 victory in Stonehill's last visit on February 7, 1976. Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus is 1-0 in his career against Wagner, while Seahawks head coach Donald Copeland is 0-1 all-time against the Skyhawks.

Last Time They Met
Stonehill turned in one of its best defensive performances of the season in notching a 62-58 triumph over Wagner in Northeast Conference action at Merkert Gymnasium on January 5. Fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) paced Stonehill to its second victory over the last three games 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 five steals. Classmate Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.) added 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, with three boards and two assists. Rob Taylor II posted a double-double to pace three from Wagner in double-figures with 17 points, including 14 in the first half, and 11 rebounds, finishing 7-for-12 from the floor, while senior Brandon Brown also pulled down a game-high 11 boards, including four on the offensive glass, to go with six points and three steals.

Prime Performer
Stonehill postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the third time this season on Monday. Zegarowski averaged 22.5 points on 50-percent shooting (17-for-34) from the floor, including 6-for-14 (42.9%) from three-point distance, converting 5-of-6 (83.3%) free-throws with 8.5 rebounds and an assist per game in a 1-1 week for the Skyhawks. He scored 16 of his career-high 30 points in the first half of Thursday's 75-60 win over LIU, adding six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Zegarowski posted his second double-double of the season in Saturday's triple-overtime setback at Central Conn. State with 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Fifth-year Andrew Sims (Mount Laurel, N.J.), also an NEC Player of the Week once this season, leads four Skyhawks to earn Prime Performer status this year with the honors nine times, with fifth-year Isaiah Burnett (Annapolis, Md.) following with seven of his own, including a Player of the Week award. Fifth-year Shamir Johnson (Waterbury, Conn.) rounds out the Skyhawks who have earned the honors with one.

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
Feb. 20: Max Zegarowski

Academic All-District
Stonehill postgrad Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) was named to the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District team on Tuesday. The CSC Academic All-America program recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. It recognizes men's basketball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot, and first, second and third-team Academic All-America honorees will be announced in mid-March. Zegarowski earns the recognition for the first time and is among four Academic All-District honorees from the Northeast Conference. He has produced a 3.62 grade point average in Stonehill's Integrated Marketing Communication graduate program and is the sixth Stonehill men's basketball student-athlete to earn the recognition and first since Monty Urmilevicius in 2020-21.

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
See you next season!