Men's Basketball Returns To Action Following Christmas Break Wednesday Afternoon As 24th-Ranked Skyhawks Host Dowling In Non-Conference Match-Up

December 27, 2005

2005-2006 Stonehill College Men's Basketball

5:00 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill returns to action for the first time in 16 days this afternoon as the Skyhawks, ranked 24th nationally in Division II, look to continue their winning ways in hosting the Dowling Golden Lions in a non-conference match-up. Stonehill has been idle since posting an 80-68 non-league triumph over UMass Lowell on December 12th at Costello Gymnasium in Lowell, Mass., as senior co-captain Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) led four players in double figures with a career-high 23 points (on a 10-of-12 shooting effort from the field) to go with seven rebounds. Junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) added 16 points, including four three-pointers, and five rebounds for the visitors, who also received 13 points, five assists and three steals from senior co-captain Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco), who iced the triumph for the Skyhawks with seven free throws in the final 50 seconds of action. Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists as well for Stonehill, which claimed its fifth straight victory and continued its best start in eight years while ending a nine-game River Hawk win streak in the series between the schools that dated back to February 2000. Dowling has also been idle for the past 16 days, as the Golden Lions enter today's action after dropping a 63-54 New York Collegiate Athletic Conference decision to Concordia on December 12th in Bronxville, N.Y.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Freshman Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) was named on December 19th as the Northeast-10 Conference Freshman of the Week for his efforts in Stonehill's 80-68 non-league victory over UMass Lowell on December 12th. Hall scored nine points in 10 minutes of action for the Skyhawks in that triumph in becoming the second Stonehill rookie to earn the league's honor this season, joining fellow freshman Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J./Colonia), who copped the accolade in late November.

HONOR ROLL HONOREES: Seniors Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford), Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco) and Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep), along with junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin), were named to the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll on December 19th for their efforts in Stonehill's 80-68 non-league triumph over UMass Lowell on December 12th. Nelson scored a career-high 23 points on a 10-of-12 shooting effort from the floor while grabbing seven rebounds, while Lauricella added 13 points, five assists and three steals for the Skyhawks on the night. Taylor added 13 points, four boards and three assists as well for Stonehill, which received 16 points, including four three-pointers, and five rebounds from Clarke.

LAST MEETING: Stonehill and Dowling last met on December 29, 1999 in the second round of the 1999 Stonehill Coca-Cola Christmas Classic at Merkert Gymnasium, and the Golden Lions posted a 74-73 victory over the Skyhawks. Kyle Quimby led four players in double figures with 18 points and eight rebounds in the setback for Stonehill.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and Dowling are meeting for the fourth time this afternoon, and the Skyhawks have won two of the three previous match-ups with the Golden Lions.

THE SKYHAWKS: Taylor leads Stonehill in scoring and rebounding at 15.8 ppg and 8.0 caroms per contest, while Nelson has tied Taylor for the team scoring lead at 15.8 ppg and adds 6.1 rpg. Clarke is next at 12.1 ppg, while senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont./Markham District) follows at 10.1 ppg and averages 5.6 assists per contest for the Skyhawks.

THE GOLDEN LIONS: Senior Keith Willis leads Dowling in scoring at 15.4 ppg, while junior Raheim Lowery follows at 10.6 ppg and paces the Golden Lions on the boards at 9.9 rpg.

HEAD COACH DAVID McLAUGHLIN: David McLaughlin is in his third season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Stonehill College. A 1997 graduate of Colby, McLaughlin has guided the Skyhawks to a 32-21 (.604) mark during his tenure after previously serving as an assistant coach. McLaughlin, who is assisted by Derik Malone, Josh Meyer and Mike Harding, has never previously faced Dowling during his career.

HEAD COACH MIKE VOYACK: Mike Voyack is in his seventh season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Dowling College, where he has compiled an overall mark of 58-114 (.337) during his tenure with the Golden Lions. Voyack, who is assisted by Dominick Savino, Chris Kelly and Kyle Black, is 1-0 during his career against Stonehill.

RANK AND FILE: Stonehill cracked the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 for the first time in over eight years on December 20th, as the Skyhawks are the lone Northeast-10 team to be ranked nationally in Division II at the #24 position in the poll. The last time Stonehill appeared in the NABC Top 25 came in March 1998 during the Skyhawks' NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" campaign. Here is the December 20th NABC Division II national poll:

RankSchool (first place votes)RecordPointsPrevious Rank

1Virginia Union (2)4-11933

2Montevallo, Ala. (5)10-11891

3Western Washington (1)8-11864

4Saint Joseph's, Ind.9-01766

5Southern Indiana10-11617

6Seattle Pacific, Wash.7-11435

7Southwest Baptist, Mo.12-014113

8Florida Southern9-01388

9Mount Olive, N.C.7-112010

10West Virginia State7-111611

11Central Missouri State10-110714

12Holy Family, Pa.8-110212

13Catawba, N.C.10-19915

14Winona State, Minn.8-3939

15Fort Hays State, Kan.10-18719

16West Liberty State, W.Va.9-08317

17Tarleton State, Texas8-3702

18South Dakota8-16616

19Lynn, Fla.7-26418

20Alabama-Huntsville9-15022

21Northern State, S.D.9-14820

22Alaska Fairbanks7-229NR

23Philadelphia, Pa.8-223NR

24Stonehill, Mass.7-120NR

25Findlay, Ohio7-216NR

Others Receiving Votes: Grand Valley State 12, South Carolina Upstate 12, Ashland 9, Ferris State 7, Seattle 7, Grand Canyon 6, Massachusetts-Lowell 6, Montana State-Billings 6, Delta State 4, West Georgia 4, Fort Lewis 3, Emporia State 2, Armstrong Atlantic State 1, Fairmont State 1, Minnesota State-Mankato 1, Northern Michigan 1.

FAST START: Stonehill's 7-1 start marks the first time that the Skyhawks have won seven of their first eight outings since the NCAA Sweet Sixteen season of 1997-98.

BIG D-MAC ATTACK: After winning just 14 games in a two-and-a-half year stretch, Stonehill has posted a 27-9 (.750) mark in its last 36 contests under David McLaughlin's tutelage dating back to November of last year.

AYE, AYE CAPTAINS: Seniors Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco) and Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) have been named as co-captains for the 2005-2006 edition of Stonehill men's basketball. Lauricella, who also served as a Skyhawk captain last season, averaged 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds off the bench last season, while Nelson added 5.6 points and 3.4 caroms per contest in a reserve role as well last winter for Stonehill.

SOLID LINE OF DEFENSE: Lauricella is making a case as an early candidate for Northeast-10 Player of the Year honors, as he has held three of the Northeast-10's top scorers in Bentley's Tim Forbes, Saint Anselm's Matt Cahill and Bryant's John Williams to a combined 5-of-31 shooting effort from the field this season and ranks second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.

SKYHAWK TALK: The December 12th win at UMass Lowell was Stonehill's first over the River Hawks since December 1999 and its first at Costello Gymnasium since November 1997Taylor is closing in on the 1,000 point plateau in his career, as he stands 78 points shy of becoming the 30th member of the Skyhawk 1,000 Point ClubThe Skyhawks have assisted on over two-thirds of their field goals on the season, notching 137 assists on 207 field goals through eight gamesNelson has averaged 20 points in Stonehill's last two contests against LeMoyne and BryantThe Skyhawks have led at the half in seven of their eight outings to dateStonehill has won two straight at Saint Anselm's Stoutenburgh Gymnasium after a six-year winless drought in that buildingPrior to last season, Stonehill's last 20-win campaign came in 1997-98 when the Skyhawks won the Northeast-10 regular season crown en route to a berth in the NCAA Division II "Sweet Sixteen" The Skyhawks have eclipsed the 80-point plateau on 18 occasions in McLaughlin's 53-game tenure as head coach.

SKYHAWKS ON THE WEB: For the second straight season, Stonehill basketball can be accessed on the world wide web through Free Teamline, a service of TRZ Sports of Kent, Ohio. A total of 15 Skyhawk regular season men's basketball broadcasts will be available throughout the 2005-2006 season via Free Teamline by accessing the official Stonehill Athletics website at www.stonehillskyhawks.com, powered by Presto Sports. Returning to call all of action of Stonehill basketball once again this winter is the tandem of Charlie Bergeron and Brian Buckley, who have served as the voices of Skyhawk Basketball since 1998.

WHO'S NEXT: Stonehill returns to Northeast-10 Conference play on Monday, January 2nd when the Skyhawks head to North Andover, Mass. to take on Merrimack in a league clash at the Volpe Complex that begins at 7:30 p.m. EST. Stonehill returns home on Thursday, January 5th to square off with American International in a Northeast-10 outing here at Merkert Gymnasium that also begins at 7:30 p.m. EST.