Kraus's Three-Pointer As Time Expires Lifts 23rd-Ranked Men's Basketball To Berth In Northeast-10 Semi-Finals With 70-67 Quarterfinal Round Triumph Over Southern New Hampshire
February 27, 2006
STONEHILL MEN'S BASKETBALL
2006 Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinals
Monday, February 27, 2006
Merkert Gymnasium, Easton, Mass.
FINAL:STONEHILL 70, SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 67
EASTON, Mass.-- Senior Chris Kraus's (Markham, Ont.) three-pointer as time expired lifted second-seeded and 23rd-ranked Stonehill to a 70-67 victory over seventh-seeded Southern New Hampshire in quarterfinal round play of the 2006 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championships Monday evening at Merkert Gymnasium.
The host Skyhawks, now 22-5 overall on the season, advance to face sixth-seeded and 2005 NCAA Division II national runner-up Bryant in one Northeast-10 semi-final on Thursday evening at Merkert Gymnasium beginning at 7:00 p.m., as the Bulldogs (21-8) advanced with a 63-61 victory at third-seeded UMass Lowell.
Stonehill held a 67-64 cushion with 1:38 remaining on a lay-in by Kraus, but senior John Baiano's (Staten Island, N.Y.) 25-foot three-pointer with 21 seconds remaining enabled the visiting Penmen (18-11) to forge at 67-67 tie, setting up the Skyhawks' last possession. Kraus took a feed from the paint from senior Marquis Taylor (Los Angeles, Calif.) and connected from the left wing on the game-winner to lift Stonehill to its first conference playoff triumph since 1999.
Southern New Hampshire raced out to a nine-point first half advantage, taking a 27-18 cushion with 4:57 remaining before the Skyhawks ended the half with a 14-5 run capped by a free throw from freshman Colin Scanlon (Centreville, Va.) with 57 seconds remaining that staked the hosts to a 32-31 edge at the break. Neither team held more than a four-point lead in the final 20 minutes of play in forging four ties and five lead changes prior to Kraus's game-winning trey.
Kraus finished with a game-high 18 points to go with six rebounds and three assists in the win for Stonehill, which also received 12 points and seven boards from senior Sean Nelson (Milford, Mass.) and 11 points each from Taylor and freshman Nick Smith (Colonia, N.J.). The Skyhawks, whose current win total ranks as the second highest in school history, shot 46 percent from the field and connected on six three-pointers while holding a 14-6 scoring edge at the foul line. Stonehill has won both of its all-time post-season match-ups with Southern New Hampshire, tonight's being the first since the 1998 NCAA Northeast Regional semi-finals.
Sophomore Sam Carey (Manchester, N.H.) netted 17 points on a 7-of-8 shooting effort from the field in the setback for Southern New Hampshire, which also received 11 points each from Baiano and sophomore P. Jay Bernard (Brockton, Mass.). Senior P.J. Young (Boston, Mass.) notched 10 points and nine rebounds for the Penmen, which also received 10 points from senior Miguel Gonzalez (Jamaica-Queens, N.Y.). Junior K.J. Creamer (Akron, Ohio) notched eight points for Southern New Hampshire, which shot 53 percent from the field and held a 31-29 rebounding edge but were hurt by 16 turnovers that led to 14 Stonehill points.
Stonehill and Bryant will meet for the third time this season on Thursday evening, as the Skyhawks won both regular season match-ups with the Bulldogs by finals of 63-51 on December 10th in Easton and 77-63 on January 5th in Smithfield, R.I.