Men's Basketball Returns Home In Search Of Fifth Victory In Six Outings Saturday Afternoon As Skyhawks Entertain LeMoyne In Northeast-10 Match-Up

December 2, 2005

2005-2006 Stonehill College Men's Basketball

3:30 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill returns home in search of its third straight victory this afternoon as the Skyhawks entertain the LeMoyne Dolphins in a Northeast-10 Conference clash. Stonehill enters today's action after collecting its first road triumph of the young season on Wednesday evening with a 65-61 Northeast-10 victory over defending league tournament champion Saint Anselm at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium in Manchester, N.H. Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) led three players in double figures for the Skyhawks by notching a double-double effort of 23 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) came off the bench to add a career-high 12 points for Stonehill, which also received 10 points from senior co-captain Mike Lauricella (Norwood, N.J./Don Bosco). Senior co-captain Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) added eight points and six rebounds in the win for the Skyhawks, which also received seven points and four assists from junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin). Stonehill canned 16 of its 17 free throws after intermission and connected on eight three-pointers in posting its second straight triumph over the Hawks at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium. LeMoyne enters today's action after posting an 84-82 Northeast-10 overtime victory over Merrimack on Wednesday evening at Ted Grant Court in Syracuse, N.Y.

HONOR ROLL HONOREES: Seniors Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) and Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) each earned spots on the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll on Monday for their efforts in a pair of Stonehill contests last week. Nelson averaged 14 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two games, including 16 points and nine boards in an 83-63 setback to fifth-ranked Bentley to go with 12 points and eight caroms in a 92-70 triumph over Saint Michael's. Taylor averaged 15 points and 5.5 rebounds on the week for the Skyhawks, including 18 points and five boards in the win over Saint Michael's and 12 points and six rebounds in the setback to Bentley.

LAST SEASON: Stonehill and LeMoyne split their two match-ups during the 2004-2005 season, as the Skyhawks notched a 75-68 overtime win on December 4, 2004 at Ted Grant Court in Syracuse, N.Y. before the Dolphins posted an 82-61 victory on January 20, 2005 here at Merkert Gymnasium. Evan Pellerin combined for 41 points and 17 rebounds for Stonehill.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and LeMoyne are meeting for the 21st time this evening, and the two teams have split their first 20 match-ups down the middle in winning 10 each.

THE SKYHAWKS: Taylor leads Stonehill in scoring and rebounding at 15.8 ppg and 7.8 caroms per contest, while Nelson follows at 12.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg. Senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont./Markham District) is next at 12 ppg and 5.0 apg, while Clarke is also in double figures for the Skyhawks at 11.2 ppg.

THE DOLPHINS: Sophomore Jason Holmes leads LeMoyne in scoring at 17.3 ppg, while junior Matt Cooper follows at 13.8 ppg. Freshman Damani Corbin and senior Corey Smith are next at 11.3 and 10.8 ppg, while senior Sid Pond paces the Dolphins on the boards at 8.0 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 29-21 (.580) mark during his tenure after previously serving as an assistant coach. McLaughlin, who is assisted by Derik Malone, Josh Meyer and Mike Harding, is 2-1 during his career against LeMoyne.

HEAD COACH STEVE EVANS: Steve Evans is in his sixth season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at LeMoyne College. A 1994 graduate of Union, Evans has compiled an overall mark of 63-79 (.444) during his tenure with the Dolphins, and he is assisted by Gallagher Driscoll and Mike Benfer. Evans is 4-4 during his career against Stonehill.

FAST START: Stonehill's 4-1 start marks the first time that the Skyhawks have won four of their five contests to start a season since December 1997.

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 has held two of the Northeast-10's top scorers in Bentley's Tim Forbes and Saint Anselm's Matt Cahill to a combined 2-of-22 shooting effort from the field this season and ranks second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.

SKYHAWK TALK: Stonehill has won two straight at Saint Anselm's Stoutenburgh Gymnasium after a six-year winless drought in that buildingAfter winning just 14 games in a two-and-a-half year stretch, Stonehill has won 24 of its last 33 outings under David McLaughlin's tutelage dating back to November of last yearPrior 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 posted their second straight 2-0 start under McLaughlinThe Skyhawks have eclipsed the 80-point plateau on 17 occasions in McLaughlin's 50-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 action next Saturday, December 10th when Stonehill hosts 2005 NCAA national runner-up Bryant in a Northeast-10 clash at Merkert Gymnasium that begins at 3:30 p.m. EST.