Men's Basketball Begins Quest For Fourth Northeast-10 Tournament Crown Monday Evening As 23rd-Ranked Skyhawks Host Southern New Hampshire In League Quarterfinal Round Play

February 25, 2006

2005-2006 Stonehill College Men's Basketball

7:00 p.m. EST

THE QUEST BEGINS: Stonehill begins its quest for its fourth Northeast-10 Conference tournament title this evening as the Skyhawks, seeded second in this year's championships and ranked 23rd nationally in Division II, entertain the seventh-seeded Southern New Hampshire Penmen in quarterfinal round play of this year's playoffs. Stonehill claimed a share of its first Northeast-10 regular season title in eight years and its sixth crown overall last Tuesday evening with an 80-55 conference triumph over Assumption at Laska Gymnasium in Worcester, Mass. Freshman Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J./Colonia) led three players in double figures with a career-high 21 points, while fellow freshman Matt Hall (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Central) matched his career-best best performance with 14 points. Junior Soap Toun (Cranston, R.I./Cranston East) added 13 points off the bench as well for the Skyhawks, as Smith, Hall and Toun combined for 10 of Stonehill's 12 three-pointers on the night. Senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) chipped in with nine points in the win for the visitors, who also received seven points and a career-high nine rebounds from freshman Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va./Flint Hill). Stonehill shared the Northeast-10 regular season title with Bentley (its first crown since the 1997-98 campaign), but the Skyhawks are seeded second in this year's tournament after dropping both of its contests during the regular season to the Falcons. Southern New Hampshire advanced to tonight's quarterfinal round match-up by posting an 83-70 victory over 10th-seeded Pace in first round play of the 2006 Northeast-10 Championships on Saturday afternoon at SNHU Fieldhouse in Manchester, N.H.

HONOR ROLL HONOREES: Seniors Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif./Naval Prep) and Chris Kraus (Markham, Ont./Markham District) each earned spots on the Northeast-10 Conference weekly honor roll last Monday for their efforts in a pair of Stonehill victories. Taylor averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and one steal on the week, including 24 points and seven boards in a 71-59 victory at American International to go with 13 points and a pair of blocks in a 68-58 triumph over Southern New Hampshire. Taylor shot 59 percent (13-22) from the field and 77 percent (10-13) from the foul line for the week. Kraus averaged 13 points, 7.5 assists, four rebounds and 3.5 steals on the week, including 16 points, seven assists and four steals in the win at American International to go with 10 points, eight assists, five boards and three steals in the triumph over Southern New Hampshire. Kraus shot 53 percent (9-17) from the field and 86 percent (6-7) from the foul line for the Skyhawks.

STONEHILL IN THE NORTHEAST-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS: Stonehill brings a 14-19 (.424) mark in 33 previous Northeast-10 tournament outings into tonight's match-up, as the Skyhawks won the first two conference tournament titles in 1981 and 1982 and added its third league playoff crown in 1989. Stonehill has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 playoffs for the first time since 1999 and seeks its first league tournament win in that same time span, having defeated Saint Anselm in the 1999 conference quarterfinals as the eighth seed.

LAST MEETING: Stonehill and Southern New Hampshire met just 12 days ago on February 15th here at Merkert Gymnasium, and the Skyhawks posted a 68-58 victory over the Penmen. Soap Toun led four players in double figures with a career-high 17 points that included four three-pointers, while Matt Hall netted a career-best 14 points, including a 75-foot buzzer beater before the half. Marquis Taylor added 13 points in the triumph for Stonehill, which also received 10 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals from Chris Kraus in posting its first win in over Southern New Hampshire since November 1999.

THE SERIES: Stonehill and Southern New Hampshire are meeting for the 33rd time this evening, and the Penmen hold a 20-12 edge over the Skyhawks in the all-time series between the schools. Tonight's contest marks the second time that the two schools have met in post-season play, as Stonehill upended Southern New Hampshire in the 1998 NCAA Northeast Regional Semi-Finals.

THE SKYHAWKS: Taylor leads Stonehill in scoring and rebounding at 16 ppg and 6.7 caroms per contest, while senior co-captain Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass./Milford) follows at 13.4 ppg and adds 5.7 rpg. Junior Lance Clarke (Somerville, Mass./Cambridge Rindge & Latin) is next at 10.7 ppg, while Kraus is also in double figures for the Skyhawks at 10.7 ppg while adding a league-best 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game.

THE PENMEN: Senior Miguel Gonzalez leads Southern New Hampshire in scoring at 17.8 ppg, while senior P.J. Young adds 13.1 ppg and a team-best 9.2 caroms per contest. Sophomore Sam Carey is also in double figures for the Penmen at 12.9 ppg.

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 46-25 (.648) mark during his tenure after previously serving as an assistant coach, and he has led Stonehill to back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time in 24 years. McLaughlin, who is assisted by Derik Malone (Babson '91), Josh Meyer (Wesleyan '00) and Mike Harding (Bowdoin '03), is 1-3 during his career against Southern New Hampshire.

HEAD COACH STAN SPIROU: Stan Spirou is in his 21st season as Head Men's Basketball Coach at Southern New Hampshire University. A 1974 graduate of Keene State, Spirou has guided the Penmen to an overall mark of 448-185 (.708) during his tenure, and he is assisted by Jay Dufour, Jeff Gore, Bob Duffley and Namdi Williams. Spirou is 20-12 during his career against Stonehill.

TWENTY-TWENTY VISION: Stonehill has posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time in 24 years, as the Skyhawks also won 20 contests last season under David McLaughlin's tutelage. Stonehill last posted back-to-back 20-win seasons during the 1980-81 and 1981-82 campaigns under the late Tom Folliard, as those squads posted identical 21-9 marks en route to claiming two straight Northeast-7 championships.

PRE-SEASON PROGNOSTICATION PREDICAMENT: For the second straight season, Stonehill has proven the pre-season Northeast-10 prognostications wrong, as the Skyhawks finished tied for first in the final league standings after being picked for eighth place in the pre-season coaches poll. Stonehill was picked 14th in the 2004-2005 pre-season poll and finished tied for third.

POLL POSITION: Stonehill is once again the only school to have both its men's and women's basketball squads ranked in their respective Division II national polls, as both teams were ranked 23rd in their respective NABC and WBCA polls last week. The Stonehill women have been ranked as high as ninth this season, while the men's team has been rated as high as 10th.

NATIONAL RANK AND FILE: Stonehill was ranked 23rd in last week's National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II national poll released last Tuesday, as the Skyhawks returned to the top 25 after a three-week hiatus on February 14th and have been ranked as high as 10th. Prior to December 20th, the last time Stonehill appeared in the NABC Top 25 came in March 1998 during the Skyhawks' NCAA "Sweet Sixteen" campaign. Here is the February 21st NABC Division II poll:

RankSchool (first place votes)RecordPointsPrevious Rank

1Fort Hays State (8)24-12001

2Delta State24-11924

3Saint Joseph's24-21835

4Virginia Union20-31696

5Montevallo23-31689

6Tarleton State21-414912

7Winona State21-414813

8Grand Valley State22-314014

9Barton21-21263

10Findlay23-312615

11Southern Illinois Edwardsville21-4108T10

12Western Washington19-4942

13Alderson-Broaddus20-49219

14Minnesota State-Mankato20-58917

15Armstrong Atlantic State20-58618

16Seattle Pacific20-4778

17Southern Indiana23-573T10

18Southwest Baptist21-4637

19Shippenburg21-46021

20Northern State21-45816

21Truman State20-55322

22Alabama-Huntsville21-54723

23Stonehill20-53125

24Ferris State16-1016NR

25Cal State-Bakersfield18-511NR

Others Receiving Votes: Sonoma State 10, Columbus State 8, Clayton State 5, Bentley 4, Bryant 4, Mount Olive 3, Rollins 3, West Liberty State 3, Presbyterian 2, Ashland 1.

REGIONAL RANK AND FILE: Stonehill was returned to the top spot in the sixth NCAA Division II Northeast Regional rankings released by the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Committee last Wednesday, as the Skyhawks have now held the top spot in the region on three occasions. The NCAA Northeast Regional rankings, with records listed through games played as of February 19th, are as follows:

1Stonehill20-520-5

2Bryant19-719-7

3Bentley19-717-7

4Saint Anselm18-718-7

5Adelphi21-420-4

6Massachusetts-Lowell18-818-8

7Queens (New York)20-520-5

8Saint Rose18-818-8

9Bridgeport19-919-8

10Bloomfield14-914-9

REGIONAL PROWESS: Stonehill is 6-3 against regionally-ranked teams this season, as the Skyhawks swept a pair of contests from Saint Anselm and Bryant while splitting two games with UMass Lowell and notching a single triumph over Saint Rose.

THEY CALL IT THE STREAK: Stonehill's recent 12-game winning streak matched the longest such skein in school history, as the 1970-71 squad also posted 12 consecutive victories during that campaign. The Skyhawks have posted a 12-game win streak and an eight-game win skein under David McLaughlin's guidance in the last calendar year alone.

CONFERENCE RANK AND FILE: In conference statistics released through games of February 25th, Stonehill leads the Northeast-10 in scoring defense (63.2 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.411), three-point field goal percentage defense (.309), assists (16.88 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.23) and defensive rebounds (26.27 drpg) and is rated second in scoring margin (+8.4). Mike Lauricella continues to lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.30), while Chris Kraus is tops in both assists (5.73 apg) and steals (2.35 spg). Nick Smith leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.466) as well for the Skyhawks.

NCAA RANK AND FILE: Stonehill is ranked in five team categories in the latest NCAA Division II national statistical leaders through games of February 19th, as the Skyhawks are 23rd in won-lost percentage, 25th in free throw percentage, 27th in scoring defense, 33rd in field goal percentage defense and 37th in three point field goals per game. Individually, Chris Kraus is ranked 18th in assists and 28th in steals per game.

MORE RANK AND FILE: Five Stonehill athletic teams have now cracked the top 10 in their respective sports during the 2005-2006 academic year: Field Hockey (#4), Men's Cross Country (#9), Men's Basketball (#10) and Women's Basketball (#9). The defending national champion Skyhawk women's lacrosse team has been picked as the top-ranked team in Division II circles as well in the Lacrosse Magazine pre-season poll.

GENERATION GAP: Stonehill's 14-1 start to the season was the Skyhawks' best in 56 years, as the first Stonehill was 15-1 under Head Coach George Sullivan during the 1949-50 season.

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.

BIG D-MAC ATTACK: After winning just 14 games in a two-and-a-half year stretch, Stonehill has posted a 41-13 (.759) mark in its last 54 contests under David McLaughlin's tutelage dating back to November 2004.

A GRAND ENTRANCE: Marquis Taylor became the 30th player in Stonehill men's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career point plateau with a 15-point performance in the Skyhawks' 82-64 win over Assumption on January 10th. Dezmond Morgan was the last Skyhawk to reach that plateau, as he did so last season ironically in a January match-up with Assumption. Here are the members of Stonehill's 1,000 Point Club:

1.Mike Allocco2,3991969-73

2.Jon Cronin2,3011988-92

3.Bob Reitz2,2181979-83

4.Bill Zolga1,8221977-80

5.Mike Barros1,6791984-88

6.George Peterson1,6041964-67

7.David Donnelly1,4981995-99

8.Ed Grzembski1,4861987-91

9.Brian Cronin1,4741985-89

10.Dick Munson1,4481962-65

11.Leo Denault1,3981958-61

12.Paul Sincero1,3681950-53

13.Chris Butler1,3621991-95

14.Ron Richards1,3021965-68

15.Bob Duarte1,2791983-87

16.Tony Fiore1,2551981-85

17.Jason Jacobsen1,2271988-92

18.MARQUIS TAYLOR1,2132002-06

19.Kyle Quimby1,1851999-03

20.Art Horan1,1211968-71

21.Dezmond Morgan1,1192001-05

22.Derrik Jerman1,098 1989-93

23.Henry Jackson1,0901970-73

24.Jamal Gomes1,0821991-95

25.Howie Bain1,0631971-74

26.Lorenzo Lapido1,0611990-94

27.Adrian Machado1,0431992-96

28.Rollie Hollins1,0211971-74

29.Charlie Simonds1,0111973-77

30.Justin LoVerme1,0071997-01

SKYHAWKS ON THE WORLD WIDE LEADER: Matt Hall's 75-foot buzzer beater just before the half of the February 15th victory over Southern New Hampshire was featured on the February 20th edition of ESPN's "College Game Night" program as part of its "Gym Gems" sequence. The nightly program, hosted by Dave Revsine, Digger Phelps and Len Elmore, included four "Gym Gems" clips.

SKYHAWK TALK: Smith and Hall combined for nearly half (35) of Stonehill's offensive output (80) in last Tuesday's win over AssumptionStonehill has won four of its last five outings with American International dating back to January 2005Chris Kraus notched his third career double-double with 16 points and 10 assists in the February 7th setback at UMass LowellThe February 11th win at Franklin Pierce was Stonehill's third in the last four meetings with the RavensAll three of Stonehill's series victories against Saint Rose have come during David McLaughlin's tenure as head coach Taylor matched his career-high effort in the scoring column with 26 points in the February 1st win over Pace, as he also netted 26 points against the Setters in an overtime victory last season in PleasantvilleThe January 16th win over Saint Anselm was Stonehill's first over the Hawks at Merkert Gymnasium since December 9, 1997 and gave the Skyhawks a regular season series sweep of Saint Anselm for the first time since the 1990-91 campaignStonehill has won six straight in the series with Saint Michael's dating back to January 2003Clarke hit the 20-point plateau in a game for the second time this season in the January 10th triumph over Assumption, as he matched his career-high set on opening night (November 18th) against MolloyThe January 7th victory was Stonehill's 36th in 60 series meetings with 2005 NCAA national runner-up Bryant, as the Skyhawks have swept the last two regular season series match-ups (four contests) from the Bulldogs The Skyhawks have assisted on over two-thirds of their field goals on the season, notching 439 assists on 661 field goals through 26 gamesThe Skyhawks have led at the half in 19 of their 26 outings to date Prior 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 22 occasions in McLaughlin's 71-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: The winner of tonight's Stonehill-Southern New Hampshire quarterfinal round match-up advances to the 2006 Northeast-10 semi-final round to be played on Thursday, March 2nd at the higher seed beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST. The Stonehill-Southern New Hampshire winner squares off with the winner of one of tonight's three other quarterfinal round contests, that being third-seeded UMass Lowell and sixth-seeded Bryant. The two semi-final winners advance to play for the 2006 Northeast-10 Conference championship on Saturday, March 4th at the highest remaining seed beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST.