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The Game
Stonehill enters Sunday's non-conference matchup at Quinnipiac amid a four-game losing streak, each loss coming on the road. This will be the final game of the Skyhawks current five-game road trip that has seen them travel from Easton, Mass. to Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Texas, and finally, back to Connecticut. Sunday's game will be a rematch from last season's Division I home opener for the Skyhawks, a matchup that the Bobcats won 102-95 in a hard-fought battle at Merkert Gymnasium. Stonehill sits at 1-5 this season to begin non-conference play while Quinnipiac enters with a 4-1 record, having won two straight games, one at Army West Point, and the following at home against UAlbany. The Bobcats are led by graduate student Matt Balanc who has scored in double figures in all five games, averaging a team-high 17ppg, also good for the third-best mark in the Metro Atlantic  Athletic Conference (MAAC). Ball-handler Savion Lewis not only leads the Bobcats and the MAAC with an impressive  8.4 assists per game, that also tops the Division I leaderboards across all conferences. The Skyhawks leading scorer, grad student Max Zegarowski, ranks 13th in the NEC with his 11.3ppg while sophomore Tony Felder is close behind, ranking 15th averaging 11ppg. Felder has been the primary faciltator for Stonehill as his 3.5apg ranks fifth in the conference.

Media Information
MSunday afternoons game will be broadcasted digitally on ESPN+ with Steve Lennox (play-by-play), Bill Mecca (analyst), and Dianne Nolan (analyst) calling the action for the Bobcats.

Last Time Out
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. 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. 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. 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.

Transfer Trio
Stonehill saw three new faces join the team for the 2023-24 season through the transfer portal. Sophomore Tony Felder (Virginia Military Institute), junior Shane O'Dell (Saint Rose), and Pano Pavlidis (Hartford). Despite all three being newcomers, the trio has made an instant impact for the Skyhawks as Pavlidis has started all six games while Felder and O'Dell have started all but one. Felder currently leads the team in assists while ranking second in scoring and steals per game. Pavlidis is leading the team in field goal and three-point percentages along with being second on the team in rebounds per game. O'Dell is the teams fourth-best scorer and is tied for second in three-point percentage.

Preseason Prognostications
Stonehill was picked to finish ninth in its first Northeast Conference season by the league's head coaches before they finished in a tie for second place as they went 10-6. This season, they were voted to finish in sixth place, three spots higher after their strong debut to the NEC in 2022-23.  

Tough Slate
Stonehill has picked up where it left off last season when it comes to assembling a  tough non-conference slate, featuring three pre-season ranked opponents and two of the NCAA Final Four teams from this past March. They'll take on teams from the Big East  (1 - #5 UConn), ACC (1 - #12 Miami), SEC (1 - #17 Kentucky), Big Ten (1 - Rutgers), A-10 (2- Saint Joseph's (Pa.), George Washington), Patriot League (1 - Army), America East (3 - UMass Lowell, Binghamton, New Hampshire), and the MAAC (2 - Quinnipiac, Rider) leading up to their second season of NEC play. 11 of the Skyhawks 15 non-conference games will be played on the road.

Ranked Rigor
Stonehill enters the season with three nationally ranked opponents from the AP/Coaches Preseason Poll, No. 6 UConn, No. 13 Miami, and No. 16 Kentucky. Entering the 2023-24 season, the Skyhawks had never faced a nationally ranked Division I opponent in its programs history.

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, 2022. The Skyhawks started their four-year transition on July 1, 2022, 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 this year, in 2023-24.

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, in 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 in 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 was a charter member 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 back at Merkert Gymnasium for its second home game of the season when UMass Lowell travels to Easton on Wednesday, Nov. 29 for a 4:30 p.m. non-conference matchup.