Men's Basketball Hits Road In Search Of Seventh Straight Victory Monday Evening As 24th-Ranked Skyhawks Tangle With Merrimack In Northeast-10 Match-Up

December 31, 2005

2005-2006 Stonehill College Men's Basketball

7:30 p.m. EST

THE GAME: Stonehill turns the calendar in search of its seventh straight victory this evening as the Skyhawks, ranked 24th nationally in Division II, tangle with the Merrimack Warriors in a Northeast-10 Conference clash. Stonehill enters tonight's action after posting a 70-45 non-league triumph over Dowling last Wednesday evening at Merkert Gymnasium, as senior Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont./Markham District) led five players in double figures with 16 points and seven assists. Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) netted 14 second half points for the Skyhawks, who also received 13 points (including three three-pointers) from junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) as well as 11 points and four boards from senior co-captain Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford). Freshman Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) was also in double figures with 10 points off the bench for Stonehill, which shot 56 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes of action while connecting on nine three-pointers and assisting on 20 of 26 field goals in their first contest as a nationally-ranked team in Division II for the first time in over seven years. Merrimack enters tonight's action after dropping a 75-56 non-league decision to Bridgeport in second round play of the 2005 Pace Westchester Marriott Holiday Classic last Thursday evening at the Goldstein Center in Pleasantville, 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 while grabbing seven rebounds, while Lauricella added 13 points, five assists and three steals for the Skyhawks. 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 SEASON: Stonehill swept both meetings from Merrimack during the 2004-2005 season, as the Skyhawks notched an 86-72 triumph over the Warriors on January 3, 2005 at Merkert Gymnasium before posting a 75-62 victory on January 22, 2005 here at the Volpe Complex. Dezmond Morgan led five players with 24 points in the January 3rd win for Stonehill, while Evan Pellerin notched a double-double effort of 24 points and 16 rebounds in the January 22nd meeting between the squads.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and Merrimack are meeting for the 90th time this evening, and the Skyhawks hold a 57-32 advantage over the Warriors in the all-time series between the schools.

THE SKYHAWKS: Taylor leads Stonehill in scoring and rebounding at 15.6 ppg and 7.6 caroms per contest, while Nelson follows at 15.2 ppg and adds 5.9 rpg. Clarke is next at 12.2 ppg, while Kraus is also in double figures for the Skyhawks at 10.8 ppg while adding 5.8 assists per game.

THE WARRIORS: Senior Kent Leahy leads Merrimack in scoring and rebounding at 16.3 ppg and 6.8 caroms per contest, while junior Kenny Jones follows at 15.5 pgg. Senior Bobby Murgo is also in double figures for the Warriors at 13.7 ppg to date.

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 33-21 (.611) 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 Merrimack.

HEAD COACH BERT HAMMEL: Bert Hammel is in his 26th season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Merrimack College. A 1973 graduate of Bentley, Hammel is the "dean" of Northeast-10 men's basketball coaches, as he sports an overall mark of 370-349 (.515) during his tenure with the Warriors. Hammel, who is assisted by Joe Gallo and John Miller, is 20-29 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 8-1 start marks the first time that the Skyhawks have won eight of their first nine 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 28-9 (.757) mark in its last 37 contests under David McLaughlin's tutelage dating back to November 2004.

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: Last Wednesday's win over Dowling was Stonehill's third in four series meetings with the Golden LionsThe 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 64 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 157 assists on 233 field goals through ninw gamesThe Skyhawks have led at the half in eight of their nine 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 54-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 home on Thursday, January 5th to square off with American International in a Northeast-10 outing at Merkert Gymnasium that begins at 7:30 p.m. EST. The Skyhawks then head to Smithfield, R.I. on Saturday, January 7th to square off with 2005 NCAA national runner-up Bryant in a Northeast-10 match-up that tips-off at 3:30 p.m. EST.