Guard Tony Felder notches a career-high 24 points as four Skyhawks reach double figures in loss. 

COMMERCE, Texas (November 20, 2023) – Sophomore guard Tony Felder (Brockton, Mass.) scored a career-high 24 points as Stonehill men's basketball lost at The Field House at Texas A&M University-Commerce, 97-86, Monday night.

LEADERS 

• Felder's 24 points led all scorers in the non-conference matchup as he shot 61.5% (8-13) from the field and 57.1% (4-7) from deep. The sophomore from Brockton, Mass. also led the Skyhawks with four assists and tied for a team-high two steals in 37 minutes of action.
• Fifth-year Pano Pavlidis (Queens, N.Y.) and senior Jackson Benigni (East Hampton, Conn.) each led Stonehill with six rebounds. Pavlidis netted a season-high 17 points, shooting a game-high 77.8% (7-9) to go along with a steal, a block, and an assist.
• Graduate student Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) played a game-high 38 minutes, scoring 15 points on an efficient 71.4% (5-7) shooting night.
• Texas A&M-Commerce was led by Jerome Brewer Jr., leading the Lions with 22 points on an 8 for 12 performance shooting the ball, knocking down a trio of three-pointers as well.
• Guard Alonzo Dodd led all players with 10 assists for TAMUC while Evan Phelps led all bench scorers, tallying 19 points off the bench for the Lions.

FIRST HALF

• Two free throws from Zegarowski were the first points of the game followed by a Tommie Lewis three-pointer that marked the first field goal and the first lead for the Lions.
• Another made jumper from long-range for Lewis capped off an 11-0 run for the Lions that put them ahead by nine through the first four minutes of the game before freshman Todd Brogna (Southborough, Mass.) knocked down a three of his own to end the TAMUC run.
• Three straight field goals by the Skyhawks trimmed their deficit to two points, 11-9, but the Lions responded and pushed their lead up to 11 points, 23-12.
• Consecutive long-range buckets from Felder and Pavlidis followed by a dunk from the fifth-year forward gave Stonehill its first lead since they led 2-0 as the Skyhawks went up 27-25 with 6:26 left to play in the half.
• The final six minutes went back and forth with the lead changing six times. Stonehill led by as many as six points, 31-25, and Tex. A&M Commerce would go up by five, 39-34, before the Skyhawks ended the half on an 11-5 run to head into the locker room ahead by one, 45-44.
• Stonehill shot 62.1% (18-29) from the field in the first half led by Felder's 14 points. Seven of the eight Skyhawks that saw action in the first half got in the scoring column.
• Commerce shot 55.2% (16-29) as Evan Phelps put up 17 points with five three-pointers.
  

SECOND HALF

• Pavlidis opened the second half scoring after junior Shane O'Dell (Schenectady, N.Y.) dished a pass to him for a clear look from long-range.
• Stonehill and Texas A&M-Commerce started the second half in a similar back-and-forth series of possessions for the first six minutes but the Skyhawk's final lead of the game would come with 13:59 left to play at 56-55.
• Back-to-back long-range shots and a pair of free throws from the Lions gave them a 63-58 lead and they'd double it to 70-60 as they hit five of their next shot attempts including three from deep.
• The Skyhawks hung around, stringing together the next seven points after sophomore Chas Stinson (Charlotte, N.C.) cashed in on both free throws from the charity stripe, O'Dell finished a layup inside, and Felder drained a three from the wing to make the score 70-67 with 7:37 to remaining in the game.
• TAMUC would go on a run of its own over the next five minutes and 35 seconds to build its largest lead of the game at 21 points, 92-71. Over the stretch, the Lions converted on seven of their 10 attempts from the field as well as going five of six from the free throw line.
• Stonehill would finish the game on a 16-5 scoring spree but it was too little too late, as the time expired with the host Texas A&M-Commerce winning the game, 97-86.
• The Skyhawks shot 57% (12-21) in the second half with both Pavlidis and Felder notching 10 points apiece.
• The Lions made half their shots in the second (15-30) and guard Kalen Williams recorded 17 points through the final 20 minutes of the game.

NOTEWORTHY

• Stonehill is now 0-1 in the all-time series with Texas A&M-Commerce and this was also the first time the Skyhawks have taken on a Southland Conference opponent.
• Felder recorded 24 points, the most by a Skyhawk this season and a new career-high, surpassing his former career high of 22 points against Davidson last season when he was a freshman at Virginia Military Institute.
• Stonehill saw four different players finish in double figures for the first time this season.
• The Skyhawks' shooting clip of 60% (30-50) sets a new season-best shooting night early in the 2023-24 campaign. This is also the first time Stonehill has reached the 60% mark since making the transition to Division I in 2022-23.
• The Skyhawks are amid 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).
• Stonehill won the rebound battle 30-19, making this the first time the Skyhawks have outrebounded an opponent this season.
• Zegarowski has now scored at least seven points in five of the first six games this year, the most such games for Stonehill.
• Benigni reached double-figures for a team-high fourth time this season.

UP NEXT

• Stonehill wraps up its five-game road trip on Sunday, Nov. 26 at Quinnipiac in a non-conference matchup at 2 p.m. from M&T Bank Arena in Hamden, Connecticut.

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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