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The Game
Stonehill enters Saturday's game coming off a 15-point loss to CCSU in its Northeast Conference opener on Thursday. Looking to bounce back, the Skyhawks host LIU in their sixth home game of the season at Merkert Gym, currently holding a 2-3 record from the comforts of home. Stonehill also looks to end a three-game losing streak that includes losses to Miami and Rutgers along with the Blue Devils. All three losses saw the Skyhawks use a different starting five with Head Coach Chris Kraus dealing with a slew of injuries and illnesses in the rotation. LIU, coming off a 69-67 win against Wagner in its conference opener on Thursday, will look to win back-to-back games for the first time since 2021.

Media Information
Saturday afternoon's game will be broadcasted digitally on NEC Front Row with Charlie Bergeron (play-by-play) and Brian Buckley (analyst) calling the action for the Skyhawks. 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.

Scouting The Sharks
Long Island University enters the game coming off a tough non-conference schedule, going 1-11 to begin the season before winning its conference opener, 69-67, against Wagner Thursday night. Son of head coach Rod Strickland, Tai Strickland, led the Sharks in the conference opener win with 23 points on 50% shooting. Strickland is LIU's leading scorer, averaging 13.6 points per game, tied for the seventh best average in the NEC. Sophomore R.J. Greene averages 7.8ppg to go along with 6.2 rebounds per game, the fourth-best rebounding mark in the conference. Freshman Eric Acker has made an instant impact for the Sharks, averaging 12.3ppg and a team-leading 3.8 assists per game, tied for the third-most in the Northeast Conference. Acker also averages 34.3 minutes per game, the highest average in the NEC.

Against The Sharks
This afternoon's game marks the third meeting all-time between these two programs. Stonehill has a 2-0 record in the all-time series after sweeping the Sharks in the regular season last year. The most recent matchup came at Merkert Gym on Feb. 16, 2023 with the Skyhawks winning 75-60 coming off of a 73-66 win at LIU on Jan. 20, 2023 in the first-ever meeting with the Sharks. In two games against LIU last year, returner Max Zegarowski averaged 20.5 points per game and scored a career-high 30 points in the 75-60 win over the Sharks in the Feb. 16 win.

Last Time Out
EASTON, Mass. (January 4, 2024) – Stonehill men's basketball opened its Northeast Conference slate Thursday night, falling to Central Connecticut State at Merkert Gymnasium, 74-59. Sophomore Chas Stinson (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Skyhawks in scoring and rebounding for the second straight game with 17 points and eight rebounds. CCSU was led by Allan Jeanne-Rose who scored a game-high 22 points with eight rebounds and two steals. Kellen Amos also hit 20 points for the Blue Devils, hitting on eight of his 14 shot attempts. The Blue Devils finished the game shooting 42.9% (27-63) after a strong second half that saw CCSU shoot 53.6% (15-28). Stonehill shot 40.7% (24-49) from the while holding Central Connecticut to just a 21.4% (6-28) shooting clip from deep.
 
Rotating cast
The Skyhawks have had nine different starting lineups through the first 16 games of the season. Nine different players have started for Stonehill as no Skyhawks have started all 16 games. Now the Skyhawks have used a different starting unit in three straight games due to various injuries and illnesses.

Road Warriors
Stonehill concluded its non-conference schedule on Saturday at Rutgers playing its 11th game on the road out of its 15 games this season. The Skyhawks, currently 0-11 when traveling from Easton, Mass., scheduled 11 of their 15 non-conference games to be played on the road. The meat of the road schedule came in November as Stonehill played five straight games (Nov. 11-Nov. 26) away from Merkert Gym. During the five-game stretch, the Skyhawks played in four different states, Connecticut (at UConn, at Quinnipiac), Pennsylvania (at St. Joseph's (Pa.)), Kentucky (at the University of Kentucky), and Texas (at Texas A&M-Commerce). When the Skyhawks played at Miami (Fla.) on Dec. 21, Florida marked the tenth and final state that Stonehill has played in this season.

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 15 games he has seen action in while Felder has started all but one and O'Dell has started in all five games he has played in, only missing time due to injury. Felder currently leads the team in scoring and assists, also being top-10 in the NEC in both categories. Pavlidis is second on the team in rebounds per game and third in field goal percentage. O'Dell is the teams fourth-best scorer and is fifth in field goal percentage when he suits up.

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. Prior to the 2023-24 season, the Skyhawks had never faced a nationally ranked Division I opponent in its programs history.

Windy City Welcome
The Northeast Conference announced on Tuesday that Chicago State University has accepted full membership to the Conference starting on July 1, 2024. Chicago State is set to join NEC charter members FDU, Long Island University, Saint Francis University and Wagner College, alongside Central Connecticut State University (admitted in 1997), Stonehill College (admitted in 2022), and Le Moyne College (admitted in 2023). The inclusion of Chicago State markedly expands the NEC footprint, now encompassing three of the United States' top 10 media markets: New York City (No. 1), Chicago (No. 3) and Boston (No. 8). Located on Chicago's south side, CSU offers 15 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs, all of which are sponsored by the NEC. The Cougars field seven men's teams and eight women's teams. Sports sponsorship at CSU includes men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, and women's volleyball. Chicago State will be integrated into NEC athletic schedules beginning with the 2024-25 academic year. The Cougars will gainimmediate eligibility to participate in all NEC championships and earn the conference's automatic qualifier to NCAA Championships. Founded in 1867, Chicago State holds the distinction of being the sole four-year Predominantly Black Institution (PBI) in Illinois as designated by the U.S. Department of Education. Boasting an enrollment of nearly 3,000, Chicago State ranks No. 1 in tuition affordability in the Chicagoland area and is in the top 4 percent nationally for boosting graduates' economic mobility.
 
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 continues Northeast Conference play when the Skyhawks travel to Hackensack, N.J. to take on FDU at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13, broadcasted digitally on NEC Front Row as well as being televised on the YES Network .