Taylor Notches Second Straight Double-Double Performance With 22 Points And 11 Rebounds As Men's Basketball Continues Best Start In Eight Seasons With 78-64 Northeast-10 Triumph Over LeMoyne

December 3, 2005

STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL

Saturday, December 3, 2005

Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.

FINAL:STONEHILL 78, LE MOYNE 64

EASTON, Mass.-- Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif.) scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to record his second straight double-double performance as Stonehill continued its best start in eight seasons with a 78-64 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball victory over LeMoyne Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.

The host Skyhawks, who are 5-1 overall for the first time since December 1997 and 3-1 in Northeast-10 play, jumped out to an 11-2 advantage just 3:20 into the contest, but the visiting Dolphins (2-3, 1-3 Northeast-10) roared back with an 11-1 run of their own to take a brief lead at 13-12. Stonehill quickly regained a nine-point cushion and closed the half on a 12-3 run to take a 37-27 lead at the break in shooting 58 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play. The Skyhawks then scored 13 of the first 16 points of the half to extend their advantage to 20 points at 50-30 with 16:16 remaining on a conventional three-point play by Taylor, as Stonehill built its lead to as many as 25 points in the closing minutes in collecting its third straight triumph overall.

Senior Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass.) chipped in with 18 points (14 in the first half) in the triumph for Stonehill, which also received 13 points from junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass.). Freshman Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.) came off the bench to score nine points and grab eight rebounds for the Skyhawks, who received a career-high tying 12 assist performance from senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont.). The hosts shot 51 percent from the field and canned eight three-pointers on the afternoon while holding a 39-29 rebounding advantage.

Sophomore Jason Holmes (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) led LeMoyne in the scoring column with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals, while junior Matt Cooper (Fulton, N.Y.) added 10 points and six rebounds for the Dolphins, who also received a combined 15 points off the bench sophomore Dan Cromwell (Victor, N.Y.) and freshman Luke Postorino (Clearwater, Fla.). The visitors shot 41 percent from the filed and forced 20 Stonehill turnovers but connected on only 4-of-16 attempts from three-point range.

Stonehill will be idle until next Saturday afternoon when the Skyhawks host 2005 NCAA national runner-up Bryant in a Northeast-10 outing at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 3:30 p.m., while LeMoyne heads to Lowell, Mass. on Monday evening to take on UMass Lowell in a Northeast-10 match-up that begins at 7:30 p.m.