Taylor Surpasses 1,200 Career Point Mark With 24-Point Performance As 25th-Ranked Men's Basketball Moves Into Tie For First In Northeast-10 Standings With 71-59 Triumph At American International
February 18, 2006
STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Butova Gymnasium, Springfield, Mass.
FINAL:STONEHILL 71, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL 59
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-- Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif.) scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds to surpass the 1,200 career point mark as 25th-ranked Stonehill climbed into a tie for first place in the Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball standings with a 71-59 league victory over American International Saturday afternoon at Butova Gymnasium.
The visiting Skyhawks (20-5, 16-5 Northeast-10) reached the 20-win plateau for the second straight season, accomplishing that feat for the first time since the 1980-81 and 1981-82 campaigns that saw Stonehill post identical 21-9 records in that two-year stretch, and the Skyhawks find themselves tied with 20th-ranked Bentley for first place in the Northeast-10 standings after the Falcons dropped an 88-78 double overtime conference decision at Bryant on Saturday afternoon.
Stonehill raced out to a 20-9 advantage in the first 11-plus minutes of action, blistering the nets at a 56 percent clip in the first 20 minutes of play to lead by as many as 25 points before settling for a 38-20 edge at the break, and the Skyhawks built that margin to as many as 27 points (58-31) midway through the second half. Taylor, who moved into 18th place on Stonehill's career scoring list with his effort, was joined in double figures by senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont.) and freshman Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.), who each netted 16 points on the afternoon. Kraus dished off seven assists as well for the Skyhawks, who also received five boards from Smith and six points off the bench from freshman Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass.) in his homecoming. Stonehill shot 53 percent from the field for the contest and canned eight three-pointers, including three by Smith, while holding an 11-4 scoring edge at the foul line in completing a regular season series sweep.
Senior John Huggins (Philadelphia, Pa.) paced the host Yellow Jackets (13-13, 9-12 Northeast-10) in the scoring column with 19 points and seven rebounds, while freshman Vernon Dupree (Wilmington, Del.) added 11 points for American International. Senior Alonzo Brown (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with nine points in the setback for the hosts, who also received seven boards from junior Levi Huncovsky (Salina, Kan.). The Yellow Jackets shot 45 percent from the field but were just 3-of-12 from behind the arc despite holding a 33-27 rebounding advantage, including a 12-5 edge on the offensive glass.
Stonehill wraps up Northeast-10 regular season play on Tuesday evening by heading to Worcester, Mass. to take on Assumption in a league outing at 7:30 p.m. The Skyhawks can claim at least a share of their first conference title in eight years with a victory but can finish no worse than second with a setback to the Greyhounds. American International will have a say in who finishes for the top spot as well, as the Yellow Jackets host Bentley in their Northeast-10 regular season finale on Tuesday evening at Butova Gymnasium that also begins at 7:30 p.m.