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The Game
Stonehill comes into Sunday's Northeast Conference game after losing its first five conference matchups. Overall, the Skyhawks are on a seven-game losing streak and have lost all 13 games away from Merkert Gym this season. Merrimack also comes into the matchup on a losing streak, having dropped its last two NEC contests, most recently falling to Wagner at Hammel Court on Friday. The Skyhawks and Warriors play the first of their home-and-home regular season series looking to get back into the win column, facing eachother for the 122nd time all-time.

Media Information
Sunday's game will be broadcasted digitally on NEC Front Row at http://necfrontrow.com/MC.

Scouting The Warriors
Merrimack currently sits at fourth place in the Northeast Conference, sporting a 3-2 record in league play despite back-to-back losses. The Warriors are 9-10 overall this season and have defended home court all season long with a 6-1 record at Hammel Court, their first loss coming on Friday when Wagner defeated them 71-65. Merrimack's strength lies in its defense as they are tops in the NEC in total steals (185) and steals per game (9.7). The Warriors hold teams to just 68.9 points per game, the third best defense in the conference while teams shoot 42.4% from the floor, the second best mark in the league. On the offensive end, Merrimack is led by sophomore Jordan Derkack who currently leads the Northeast Conference, averaging 17.3 points per game. He also leads the conference with 88 free throws made, 25 more than FDU's Jo'el Emanuel who has made 63. Derkack leads the team in rebounding and ranks fifth in the NEC with 6.1 per game. He has been named NEC Player of the Week a league-leading three times.

Against The Warriors
Sunday afternoon's matinee will be the 122nd meeting all-time between Stonehill and Merrimack dating back to their long history as rivals in the Northeast-10 conference at the Division II level. The Skyhawks leads the all-time series with a 74-47 record. In the first season as Northeast Conference opponents last year, Merrimack won both contests but Stonehill still holds a 22-18 record when traveling to the Volpe Complex in North Andover, Mass. to take on the Warriors. The all-time series with Merrimack is one of the oldest standing rivalries in Stonehill college basketball history with the first meeting between the two teams coming in 1949.

Last Time Out
EASTON, MASS. (January 19, 2024) – Senior Jackson Benigni (East Hampton, Conn.) scored a career-high 27 points but the Skyhawks' late push in the second half was halted as FDU won Friday night's Northeast Conference matchup at Merkert Gymnasium, 76-69. Benigni led all scorers as he scored 27 points on 9-20 shooting from the field while going 4-10 from long range. He also led the Skyhawks with three steals. Graduate student Max Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) went 6-13 from deep en route to 19 points while leading all rebounders in the game with eight. FDU was led by Ansley Almonor who scored a team-high 24 points, going a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line while grabbing seven rebounds.

Rotating cast
The Skyhawks have used 11 different starting lineups through 20 games this season. Nine different players have started for Stonehill and no Skyhawk has started all 18 games. The Skyhawks have used a different starting unit in five of the last seven games. Stonehill's 11 different starting lineups is tied for the third-most unique combinations in all of Division I. Furman (14) and Detroit Mercy (12) are first and second while Eastern Michigan (11) and Vanderbilt (11) are both tied with the Skyhawks.

Road Warriors
Stonehill concluded its non-conference schedule at Rutgers playing its 11th game on the road out of its 15 games up to that point. The Skyhawks, currently 0-13 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.

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 and Felder have both started in 18 games this season while O'Dell has started in all five games he has played in, missing time due to injury. Felder currently leads the team in assists and is second in scoring, also being top-11 in the NEC in both categories. Pavlidis is first 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 on Thursday, Jan. 25 at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. when the Skyhawks take on Long Island University at 7 p.m.