Jackson Benigni kncks down the three en route to third double-digit scoring effort of the season. (PHOTO BY Carsen Bryant)

Felder and Zegarowski each record 15 points in the first-ever meeting between Stonehill and Kentucky.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (November 17, 2023) – The No. 17 ranked Kentucky Wildcats hosted Stonehill men's basketball at Rupp Arena Friday night as the Skyhawks fell 101-67 in the second of three Wildcat Challenge contests.

LEADERS

• The Skyhawks were led on the offensive end by sophomore Tony Felder (Brockton, Mass.) and graduate student Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) as the pair tallied 15 points each.
• Junior Shane O'Dell (Schenectady, N.Y.) had a season-high and team-leading four assists for Stonehill.
• Senior Jackson Benigni (East Hampton, Conn.) notched a game-high four steals which also set a new career-high for the guard.
• Kentucky's Reed Sheppard led all scorers with 25 points off the bench, making nine of his ten shot attempts and seven of his eight three-pointers. He was also a game-high +42 on the court while his seven assists were tied for a game-high mark.
• Rob Dillingham also had seven assists for the Wildcats while netting 20 points on a 70% shooting percentage.
• Four different Wildcats recorded a game-high five rebounds in the win.

FIRST HALF

• Fifth-year Pano Pavlidis (Queens, N.Y.) scored the first two points of the game when he knocked down a mid-range jumper from the elbow to give the Skyhawks the lead.
• Stonehill led 8-2 early on, making their first three shot attempts of the night as three different Skyhawks got in the scoring column.
• Stonehill led 10-5 but Kentucky scored the next six points to take its first lead of the game at 11-10 with 16:16 to go in the half.
• Benigni drilled a corner three coming out of the first media timeout to make the score 16-15 before Kentucky rattled off a 14-0 run over the next three minutes on seven consecutive made shots to lead 30-15.
• The Wildcats cooled off but continued to play well as they built their largest lead of the game at 21 points with a 40-19 advantage.
• Felder responded for the Skyhawks, cashing in on back-to-back three-pointers, bringing Stonehill's deficit back down to 16, 46-30 with 4:48 remaining in the half.
• The first half ended with Kentucky leading 58-37 as the Wildcats shot 66.7% from the field, going 22-33 and 10-16 from long range.
• The Skyhawks converted on 50% of their field goal attempts, going 14-28 and 7-18 from deep.

SECOND HALF

Max Zegarowski lines up a three-pointer as he tied for the team-lead with 15 points. (PHOTO BY Carsen Bryant)

• Stonehill began the second half with a 9-0 run as Felder and O'Dell each knocked down three-pointers capped off by a Benigni fast-break layup that made the score 58-46 just over three minutes into the second.
• Kentucky responded with a run of its own, outscoring the Skyhawks 13-2 over the next three minutes to build a 23-point advantage, 71-48, their largest lead of the game so far.
• The Wildcats went 6 of 8 from the field while the Skyhawks only hit two field goals during that stretch as Kentucky led 88-55 with 5:39 remaining in the game.
• Kentucky hit its largest lead with just under a minute left as the Wildcats held a 99-62 lead.
• A three-pointer from freshman Se'yphon Triplett (Springfield, Mass.) followed by a second chance putback by junior Neal Marquardt (Rockville Center, N.Y.) were the final scores of the game.
• No. 17 Kentucky defeated Stonehill 101-67, shooting 63.9% from the field on 39 of 61 shooting. The Wildcats were 17 of 32 from long range for a 53.1% shooting clip.
• The Skyhawks went 24 of 64 from the floor as they shot 37.5% for the night.

NOTEWORTHY

• Stonehill falls to 0-1 all-time against Kentucky and this was also the first time the Skyhawks have taken on an SEC opponent.
• Felder recorded 15 points, his most since joining the Skyhawks as a transfer this season.
• Stonehill's 11 made three-pointers marked a new season-high for the Skyhawks.
• Three different Stonehill players scored in double-figures while all three hit a trio of long-range.
• The Skyhawks are in the midst of a five-game road trip in four different states, Connecticut (at UConn, at Quinnipiac – 11/26), Pennsylvania (at St. Joe's), Kentucky (at UK), and Texas (at Texas A&M-Commerce – 11/20).
• Zegarowski has now scored at least seven points in four of the five games this year, the most such games for Stonehill.
• Benigni reached double-figures for a team-high third time this season.

UP NEXT

• Stonehill men's basketball travels to the University of Texas A&M-Commerce for the third and final game of the Wildcat Challenge as the Skyhawks play their fourth of a five-game road trip on Monday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the 2023-24 men's and women's basketball season are on sale now and can be purchased at stonehillskyhawks.com/tickets. Season ticket options are available including a men's and women's combination pass, valid for all 27 home games this year.

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